Man-hunting in the desert : being a narrative of the Palmer Search-expedition (1882-1883)

COLONEL WARREN, 1883 ;

NOW
MAJOR-GENERAL SIR CHARLES WARREN, G.C.M.G., K.C.B.

-HUNTING IN THE DESERT,

BEING A NARRATIVE OF THE

PALMER SEARCH-EXPEDITION

(1882, 1883).

ALFRED E. HAYNES,

Captain, Royal Engineers.

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY WALTER BESANT.

LONDON :

HORACE COX,
WINDSOR HOUSE, BREAM'S BUILDINGS, E.G.

1894,

LONDON :
PRINTED BY HORACE COX. WINDSOR HOUSE, BREAM'S BUILDINGS, B.C.

TO THE

P0ttore&le tire fel of

UNDER WHOSE DIRECTION

THE PALMER SEARCH- EXPEDITION

WAS LAUNCHED AND CARRIED TO

A CONCLUSION,

THESE PAGES
ARE DED-ICATED.

252981

PREFACE.

THIS book has been written in pursuance of a plan that
was formed ten years ago in the desert of Arabia. It was
then thought that an account of the detective and man-
hunting operations of the Palmer Search - Expedition
would interest the public if put before them with any
literary skill ; and the requisite literary skill we looked
for from the pen of Major-General Sir Charles Warren.
However, the pressure of public work since then has
forbidden his participating in the work to the desired
extent, and has resulted in its being relegated to my
inexperienced hands.

The interval that has elapsed since the events herein
related took place permits a dispassionate judgment being
formed upon them, as it relieves them from all consideration
of policy or party and brings them within the range of
history ; while Time,, the great healer of human sorrow,
has in the interval somewhat assuaged the pain that a
reiteration of the circumstances which led to the Expedition
might have caused ten years ago.

Sir Charles Warren has given me notes upon which
Chapters I., II., III., and IV., and parts of XII. are

vi Preface.

based, and Appendices A, B, and C are from his pen.
With these important contributions my task has been
rendered a comparatively light one, and it has been
further lightened by the kind assistance of Mr. Walter
Besant, the author of Professor Palmer's Memoir, &c.,
who pays a last tribute to his friend's memory in the
Introduction which he has written.

A. E. EL
CHATHAM, February, 1894.

CONTENTS.

List of Illustrations and Maps xi

Introduction ... xiii

CHAPTER I.

The Egyptian Question in the Summer of 1882. Palmer's
Mission in the Desert. Antecedents of Professor Palmer
and Captain Gill. Disappearance of Palmer's Party.
Despatch of Colonel Warren. Arrival in Egypt. Informa-
tion obtained at Suez Captain Foote's Inquiries.
Condition of Suez A Water-Famine Threatened. Colonel
Warren ordered to Tor 1

CHAPTER II.

Voyage in H.M.S. Cockatrice. Arrival at Tor. Information
received. Letter to Palmer. Difficulties of Divided
Authority. Departure of Osman Bey Rafat and the Greek
Consul. At Tor in the absence of the Cockatrice.
Arrival of Lieutenant Burton. News of Arabi's Collapse.
Coyness of Musa Nusier. Standing-Camp in the Desert.
Mr. West leaves for Suez. Waiting for Musa. Return to
Tor. Results of our Mission to Tor 19

CHAPTER III.

Arrival at Suez. New Proposals for Continuing the Search.
Journey to Cairo. Arrangements for Working the Desert.
Zagazig. Truth about the Alleged Looting by the Indian
Contingent at Zagazig. Return to Suez. Raid on Ayun
Musa and Capture of Selami, one of Palmer's Camel-
Drivers. Mission to Akabah. Preparations for Entry
into the Desert. Suez short of Water 49

CHAPTER IV.

Departure for Akabah in H.M.S. Eclipse. Landing at
I'hahab. Arrival at Akabah. Attempt to Land. Critical
Position of Landing-Party. Enforced Hospitality. Con-

viii Co n tents.

ference with the Governor and Mohammed Gad. The
Banquet. The Letter from the Governor of Nackl.
Tidings of Palmer's Murder. Mohammed Gad, Sheik of
the Alawin. Return to Suez 67

CHAPTER V.

Return to Suez. The Hiiiwatat Sheiks. Arrangements for
the Expedition into the Desert. Sualem Abu Farag.
Difficulties with the Egyptian Sheiks. Arrival of Musa
Nusier : Guarantees Safety of Colonel Warren and Party.
Aligat Witnesses. The Object of going into the Desert ... 90

CHAPTER VI.

Departure from Suez. Ayun Musa. The Search-Expedition
starts. Wadi Sadr. Arrival at Site where Palmer's
Baggage was plundered. Ibn Mershed Escapes. Some
Captives. Camp at Tussot Sadr. Evidence of Sahimi.
Dispositions for the Morrow. Unreliable Character of our
Bedouin. Discovery of the Remains of Palmer and his
Companions. Start for Nackl. Journeying across the
Desert of the Tih. Mission of Sualem Abu Farag 102

CHAPTER VII.

Arrival at Nackl. Submission of the Governor. The Com-
plicity of Ali Effendi in the Attack on Palmer. Depar-
ture from Nackl. The March across the Desert. Escape
of Metter Sofia. Disastrous March. I Fall 111 of Fever.
Arrival at Ismailia. Surrender of Metter Sofia. His
Evidence. Restitution of ,£1000 of Government Money.
Our Entry into the Desert not in vain 125

CHAPTER VIII.

Government of the Bedouin. The Shedids. Palmer on his
Journey from Syria to Suez. Studied Obstruction of the
Shedids. The Fatal Mission. Palmer's Altitude towards
the Bedouin. Arrival of Salami Ibn Shedid. The Con-
tract. Colonel Warren moves to Nackl. Examination of
Prisoners there. Metter Sofia's part in Palmer's Death.
Sheik Misleh, Palmer's " Friend." Suleiman the Tiyahah.
Expedition into the Tiyahah Territory. A Bedoui Encamp-
ment. Ascent of Hill at Shweiki's Encampment. Captain
Sir Richard Burton 152

Contents. ix

CHAPTEE IX.

PAGE

Start from Nackl. Camel-riding. The Tih Plateau. The
Amalekites. Railway Communication between Egypt and
Syria. Mountains of the Peninsula. Serabit el Khadem.
Destruction of Trees. Bedan. Approach to Jebel Musa.
Convent of Mount Sinai. Musa Nusier's Camp. Wadi
Feiran. Aspect of the Peninsula. Geological Changes.
Strength of Desert Tribes 179

CHAPTEE X.

The Identification of Mount Sinai. Division of the Country of
Arabia Petraea and Neighbouring District. Connection
between Mount Sinai and the Wilderness. Division of the
Wilderness. Discrediting of the Siuaitic Mountains and the
Coast-Lands as Possible Sites of Mount Sinai. Considera-
tion of the Tib. Central Group of Mountains. Position of
Ancient Peoples. Tactical Details given in Book of Numbers.
Identification of Sites, Marches, &c. Indefinite Character
of the Holy Scripture*, on this Question 204

CHAPTEE XI.

Reconnaissance of Wadi Sadr. Mr. and Miss Charrington
Visit the Scene of Murder. Building Commemorative Cairn.
Eeturn to Suez. Arrangements for the Trial. Arrival at
Cairo. Tanta. The Commission of Inquiry. Court-
Martial at Alexandria. Sentence of Court. Criticism of
Home-Press ... 217

CHAPTEE XII.

Mission to El Ansh. Departure from Alexandria in H.M.S.
"Decoy." Landing at El Aiish. The Wadi, Town, and
Population of El Arish. Situation of Affairs when we
arrived. Case of Eacheed H-ddid. Government vest°d in
Bekka Effendi. Inquiring into Cases of Bastinadoing, &c.
The Sowarki Sheiks Iniquities of Mustapha Mamnoon's
Government. His Order for our Detention. The Suspension
of the Governor. Endeavours to approach the Terebin
Sheiks .. 239

Contents.

CHAPTER XIII.

PAGK

Departure from El Arish. Wadi El Arish. Gatic. The
Sand-hill Country. Arrival at El Kantara. Recall to
England. The Houses of Parliament and the Expedition.
The Critical Insanity of Irresponsible Politicians. Results
of Search-Expedition. Causes which Led to Palmer's
Murder. Selection of Palmer for the Mission to the Desert.
His Instructions and Action. Interment of Remains in St.
Paul's Cathedral 261

APPENDIX A.

Notes by Sir Charles Warren on his connection with the

Palmer Search-Expedition, &c. 281

APPENDIX B.

Abbreviated Account of Professor Palmer's Mission, by Sir

Charles Warren 287

APPENDIX C.

Extracts from some Notes on Arabia Petraea and the Country

lying between Egypt and Palestine, by Sir Charles Warren 293

APPENDIX D.

A Glossarv of Arabic Words 304

LIST OF

ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS.

PAGE

MAJOR-GENERAL SIR CHARLES WARREN, G.C.M.G. . Frontispiece

PROFESSOR E. H. PALMER 4

CAPTAIN W. J. GILL, R.E '. . 6

LIEUTENANT H. CHARRINGTON, R.N 8

H.M.S. " COCKATRICE " 20

DEL BORGO, INTERPRETER 25

FARRAK 26

CAMP NEAR TOR . . . . 40

THE ARABAH — LOOKING NORTH FROM AKABAH .... 71

A HALT IN THE DESERT 107

TEL EL BISHER 112

CAVE AT SCENE OF MURDER. WHERE THE BEDOUIN HELD THEIR

FINAL CONSULTATION BEFORE KILLING THEIR CAPTIVES . 117

ALI EFFENDI, GOVERNOR OF NACKL 127

THE FORT OF NACKL 128

SALEM SHEYK, ONE OF THE MURDERERS 146

SHEIK ABU SITTEH . 164

ALI SHWAIR, ONE OF THE MURDERERS 166

THE PLAIN OF ER EAHAH FROM THE TOP OF THE NAKB

HAWY PASS, SHOWING RAS SUSAFEH IN THE DISTANCE . 191

THE CONVENT OF MOUNT SINAI. 194

FLINT-FLAKES FROM WADI KAHALIN 201

HAMID, ONE OF METTER'S SONS 220

THE SCENE OF THE MURDER IN WADI SADR . 221

xii List of Illustrations and Maps.

PAGE

MEMORIAL CAIRN 222

MOSQUE AT TANTA 229

MERCEH EL RASHDEH, ONE OF THE MURDERERS .... 233
SALAMI IBN AID (METTER'S NEPHEW), WHO ESCAPED WITH

PALMER'S MONEY 235

THE SHORE NEAR EL ARJSH, WHERE WE LANDED .... 242

THE FORT AND TOWN OF EL ARISH 244

THE SEARCH-EXPEDITION AND SOME ASSISTANTS .... 267

MEMORIAL IN ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL 281

MAP OF ARABIA PETR^A 207

RECONNAISSANCE OF WADI SADR . 218

INTRODUCTION.

THIS book should have been published ten years ago as a
sequel to my " Life and Achievements of Edward Henry
Palmer" (Murray, 1883). That it has been so long
delayed is due to the fact that the author has been engaged
on foreign and colonial service during this time, and has
not been able to put together his notes and sketches made
during the expedition of justice in which he was a
member.

Palmer's memory, save among his friends, of whom he
had a larger circle than falls to the lot of most, may
perhaps be less vivid than when the whole world talked of
the murdered scholar, and of the great service he rendered
to his country, and of the funeral in St. Paul's Cathedral,
where the poor remains — all that had been left by the
jackals — were reverently laid in the crypt in the presence
of a great company who mourned deeply and truly. The
tablet commemorating his death stands in the wall under
one of the windows in the crypt ; the portrait of him in
his Oriental robes, as the Syrian Effendi Abdullah, hangs
in the hall of his college ; his books continue to keep his
memory green. There wanted only this volume to show
how justice, swift, stern, not to be escaped, fell upon his
murderers.

Let me quote a passage from the preface of that book
to which I have referred above, before I remind the readers

xiv Introduction.

of this book of the chief events in the life of Edward
Palmer. I there said—

This is the history of a life which in many respects is unique.
Palmer was a scholar and student, most earnest and resolute,
yet always with the heart of a boy ; so great a linguist that he
stood alone, yet always modest, full of reliance in himself and
his powers, yet never vainglorious. Always at work, yet always
with time for leisure : the most sincere man in the world when
he had a purpose in view, yet the most delightful and the most
mirthful of companions.

These words are a summary of the man's character.
They touch the true note — they explain the man. I do
not think, looking back after all these years, that I could
have put the case better. Such he was — such the man
whom we loved. Edward Henry Palmer was born in
1840, and died in 1882. He was a Fellow of St. John's
College, Cambridge ; he was Lord Almoner's Professor
of Arabic in the University of Cambridge ; in the last
years of his life he was a brilliant leader writer to the
Standard; he has given the world the best translation
we have of the Koran ; he was a traveller in the Peninsula
of Sinai and the Desert of the Exodus ; he translated the
New Testament into Arabic, he wrote grammars of the
Arabic, Hindustani and Persian languages ; he wrote the
" Life of Haroun Alraschid," of which a new Edition
appeared only yesterday (Marcus Ward and Co.) ; he made
translations of poems from the Persian, the Arabic, the
Scandinavian, into other languages ; he published original
poems ; he wrote " The History of Jerusalem," now
in its third or fourth edition ; he wrote " The History
of the Jewish Nation," and many other works. In
addition to these, he wrote verses in the most delightful
vein of humour. Apart from his writings and the serious
work of his life, he was an adept in the art of legerde-

Introduction. xv

main ; he could draw and paint admirably ; he was a
mesmerist ; he was a most wonderful raconteur ; he was
acquainted with nearly all the European as well as the
Oriental languages, and he was well known to all English
gipsies as one who knew as much as they knew themselves
of their language and their manners, insomuch that they
came to the conclusion that he was himself a gipsy, dis-
guised, for reasons connected with the higher and bolder
knavery, as a gentleman of England.

Let me show Palmer as a poet. Here is a poem
translated from the Scandinavian. I give it because it
seems to me so perfectly beautiful, sad, and touching :

Like birds of passage, after winter's days returning

To lake-land home and rest,
I come now unto thee, my foster-valley, yearning

For long-lost childhood's rest.

Full many a sea since then from thy dear strands has torn me,

And many a chilly year ;
Full many a joy since then those far-off lands have borne me,

And many a bitter tear.

Here am I back once more. — Great Heaven ! there stands the
dwelling

Which erst my cradle bore,
The self-same sound, bay, grove and hilly range upswelling :

My world in days of yore.

All as before. — Trees in the selfsame verdant dresses

With the same crowns are crowned ;
The tracts of heaven, and all the woodland's far recesses,

With well-known songs resound.

There with the crowd of flower-nymphs still the wave is
playing,

As erst, so light and sweet ;
And from dim wooded aits I hear the echoes straying

Glad youthful tones repeat.

XVI

Introduction.

All as before. — But my own self no more remaineth,

Glad valley ! as of old ;
My passion quenched long since, no flame my cheek retaineth,

My pulse now beateth cold.

I know not how to prize the charms that thou possessest,

Thy lavish gifts of yore ;

What thou through whispering brooks, or through thy flowers
expressest,

I understand no more.

Dead is mine ear to harp-strings which thy gods are ringing

From out thy streamlet clear,
No more the elfin hosts all frolicsome and singing

Upon the meads appear.

I went so rich, so rich from thee, my cottage lowly,

So full of hopes untold,
And with me feelings, nourished in thy shadows holy,

That promised days of gold.

The memory of thy wondrous spring- times went beside me,

And of thy peaceful ways,
And thy good spirits, borne within me, seemed to guide me

E'en from my earliest days.

And what have I brought back from yon world wide and
dreary ?

A snow-encumbered head,
A heart with sorrow sickened, and with falsehood weary,

And longing to be dead.

I crave no more, of all that once was in my keeping,

Dear mother ! but one thing :
Grant me a grave, where still thy fountain fair is weeping,

And where thy poplars spring !

So shall I dream on, mother ! to thy calm breast owing

A faithful shelter then,
And live in every floweret, from mine ashes growing,

A guiltless life again.

And I should like to quote on Palmer's position as a
journalist, the words of Mr. Robert Wilson, now also

Introduction. xvii

dead, who was at one time assistant editor of the
Standard :

I have been often asked what sort of subjects Palmer liked
to -write about. The answer is, he wrote with delight about
anything that was suggested to him, provided it had human
interest in it. Hence he discoursed best upon certain themes
such as gipsies, vagrants and vagabonds, Oriental life and
manners, folk-lore and popular antiquities. He was very fond
also of writing about crimes and disasters, and strange law cases
or famous trials, and his light and playful wit stood him in good
stead when he dealt with what are called social questions. He
had an idea that he was an authority on questions of Free Trade
and Commercial Tariffs, but I never discovered that he had any
profound knowledge of economic science ; and from his talk I
came to the conclusion that what he knew of the subject, accurate
as it was, went little beyond the speeches in Parliament, and
the ephemeral criticism of the day. Perhaps there is no better
illustration of his power of rapidly mastering a subject than the
suddenness with which he came to take a great interest in
Elementary Education, especially in connection with the politics
of the London School Board. I really think he was one of the
few men in London who could write well and safely on this
topic. Yet nearly all his knowledge of it he acquired, in the
first instance, by having a few conversations with an intelligent
member of the Board, from whom he obtained a vast pile of
formidable-looking documents, the contents of which his friends
used to regard with awe, as containing — so he used with serio-
comic solemnity to aver — the key to one of the most inscrutable
of mysteries. Palmer considered his career as a journalist in
London, short as it was, one of the pleasantest episodes of his
life. Those who were associated with him in that career pro-
fessionally can say that they reckoned his companionship one of
the brightest and happiest of their experiences. He was —
The dearest friend to me, the kindest man,
The best-conditioned and unwearied spirit
In doing courtesies ;

and what he was to me he was to all who worked with him.

He was a worker of the most extraordinary vigour and
industry. Nothing seemed to tire him. He took upon
himself the heaviest burdens, he accepted responsibilities

c

XV111

Introduction.

to an extent which would have been impossible for other
men ; at the very time when he went out to the East on
his last mission, he was writing leaders — four or live a
week — for the Standard ; reviews on Oriental subjects for
the Times ; articles for the Saturday Review, the Athenaeum,
and the Academy ; he was writing for the " Encyclopaedia
Britannica ;" he was editing, with me, the " Memoirs of
the Scenery of Western Palestine," a great work in eight
quarto volumes ; he was examining for the Civil Service
Commission ; he was lecturing at Cambridge. With all
this work he found time for an afternoon talk at the
Savile Club, for an hour of advice and help for a man in
trouble, for an expedition to see his friends the Lascars at
the Foreign Sailor's Home ; and all the time he was
fighting against a cruel asthma.

Here let me again copy from my " Life," the drawing
which I there essayed of his character, and the strange
weird charm of the man.

It was a charm of manner utterly unlike any that I have
seen in other men ; it is difficult to explain in what it lay ; yet
it was there, and it subdued all men, except those whom he did
not like : and these were few. It was caused chiefly by his
extraordinary sympathy ; it seemed as if, whoever approached
him, Palmer involuntarily put himself into that man's place and
assumed that man's attitude. It was not effort, or affectation,
or pretence, or hypocrisy, or acting. It was a natural, gracious,
and extraordinary sympathy. Women, who possess this strange
faculty generally to a much greater degree than men, are liable
to be led away by it into extravagances, hysterical passions,
blind obedience, absolute submission of the will. They are
carried into slavery by means of it. Palmer, on the other hand,
by means of his strangely sympathetic nature, influenced or
commanded those whom he knew. I am sure there is not one of
his friends who will not own, without any shame, that Palmer
couldj and very often did, influence him more than any other
man. We all, though we do not, perhaps, like to think so, lean

Introduction. xix

greatly upon each, other, and are guided and influenced by the
opinions of our friends far more than we believe ; to use the
expression of the artisan when he wishes to describe a man who
is easily influenced by others, we are all, more or less, " cakes " :
that is, we may be moulded like dough. Palmer was the man
to whom everybody confided his affairs, even the most secret
and private affairs, and asked his counsel and advice.

Another cause of this strange charm was certainly his gentle
manner, his soft voice, his large and luminous eyes. Small as
he was in stature, he was never insignificant ; whenever he
entered a room one felt there was another man, of larger growth
than most, in it. And this, although he never in the least
degree asserted himself, anywhere or in any way, but always
retained the same quiet, unpretending manner, as if a back
place, somewhere in the pit, at the Play of the world would
perfectly content him, and others might occupy the stalls. And
then, again, there was a curious contrast, which the prejudices
of some unhappy persons may present to them as more or less
of an incongruity, between the wonderful learning of the man,
his unrivalled linguistic power, and the boyish playfulness which
he always retained, so that, without ever being a jack -pudding,
or a torn-fool, or a buffoon, or a practical joker, or a comic man,
or in any way losing his self-respect, he was always surrounded
with a pleasant atmosphere of cheerfulness, which he carried
about with him. Why should not a great scholar be also a man
of joyous nature ?

Again, one could never forget with him the intensely earnest
and serious side of his character. There never was any man
with a greater ardour for knowledge, a greater enthusiasm for
learning, a stronger resolution to achieve learning. I have
endeavoured to show this in the story of his early years, where
it has been seen how he taught himself Romany, Italian, and
French, with no other assistance than his own dogged per-
severance and determination ; and in the story of his early
manhood, when, with a kind of ferocity, he threw himself upon
three Oriental languages, and " tore the heart out of them ;"
and in his ill-paid work for an ungrateful University ; and in
his journalistic work; and even in those things in which he
made his amusement. And, as there has never been any greater
master of Persian, Arabic, and Urdu — though there may have
been, and perhaps still are, greater scfiularx, as we commonly

xx Introduction.

reckon scholarship — that is, by grammar — so there never has
been, since the time when the first alphabet was created by
Providence for the use of the first man who loved letters, any
more determined, resolute, and enthusiastic student.

Captain Haynes, in what follows, gives a brief account
of Palmer's mission. Perhaps the time has not come to
tell the whole truth concerning this expedition. Things
are known — I do not speak of things connected with his
instructions, his powers, or the Government — which are
not easy to prove, yet are very well known, to a few. It
is sufficient here to say that the real murderers of this
scholar and of the two gallant officers who fell with him
were not the wretched men who were rightly hanged for
being the tools, but others.

One of the last letters Palmer wrote was to myself.
In 1883, when I wrote his life, I had mislaid this letter.
I could find it nowhere in spite of long search. Too late,
it turned up in the place where I had put it for perfect
safety. I reproduce it here — the last few lines in both
sheets were torn off by some accident when the letter

reached me.

Wady Magharah,

Desert of the Tih.

July 22, 1882.

My dear Besant, — For personal discomfort I can recommend
travel in the desert in Midsummer, with the Arabs all in a state
of devildom, and Turkish and Egyptian soldiers to dodge. At
Jaffa and Gaza people thought me mad, and I had the greatest
difficulty in getting anyone to fetch my Arabs. I offered one
man three dollars a day and he would not go. However, here I
am, and thus far I have had a very successful journey, having
got hold of the big sheikhs, and got the promise of 50,000 men.

Arabi Pasha has got [a small part of the letter is

here torn off] — am going to send 10,000 Tiyahah and Terebin
against them as soon as I get to Suez. The getting there,
though, is difficult, and I am at present rather like a rat in a
trap. I shall either have a gunboat sent for me to the Sinai

Introduction. xxi

coast, or I shall have to get a couple of hundred men and fight
my way through the Egyptian guards. It is a queer sensation
to have one's throat in constant jeopardy, but I don't mind it
as I feel quite cool, and sure of success.

Explanation is quite out of the question, but if I stop till the
cool weather — and I don't suppose I shall get back home till the
end of the campaign — I may be able to run down to Akabah ;
the Bedouin will do anything for me. Why did you not make
" They were married," longer ? I .... [here comes the
torn part] — off hand, and am now bookless. I expect a man in
from Suez to-morrow with letters and then I shall know my
plans better. I hope he won't get killed, because if the
Egyptians get hold of my letters things won't be nice for me.

Lord Northbrook said that he looked upon my task as the
most important one to the success of the campaign. And
Admiral Seymour, with whom I breakfasted the morning I left
(iced figs — oh ! Lord !), congratulated me on my " pluck in
venturing into the desert at such a time." Excuse my vain-
glory— I am the only European on Egyptian territory who is
not under the protection of the guns of the fleet.

The Aiyadi Arabs — Arabi's lot — have just sneaked some
camels, and my sheikh, with some pals, has gone off in war
costume to kill and slay. This is a casus belli, and will make
my ragamuffins doubly eager to do the little job I asked them,
and drive the intruders back home. It is all very romantic, but
a nuisance when you are in the middle of it, and the tent is so
shockingly hot at midday — that is now — and I pant like the
hart for cooling B. and S. in a thirsty land where no B. and S. is.
If ever I should get back again we will dine together immediately
and drink iced champagne. I should like to sit in a fishmonger's
shop beside the block of ice, and order .... [here the torn
piece] — skins, hard goat and Arab bread are but sorry fare.
Do write to me and tell me all the news. I haven't heard from
a soul since I left, except a telegram from the Admiralty in
Alexandria. I am looking forward with some little excitement
to the advent of my wild postman to-morrow.

He has come back, and has brought me a "Homeward
Mail " ! It is a present from the P. and 0. agent ! My letters
are at the Egyptian post, and no one dares to go for them.
Hooray ! ! This is getting Mark Tapleyish. Let us be cheerful.

I have invented a plan for having all the comforts of an

xxii Introduction.

Arabian summer journey at home. You get a huge cucumber
frame and walk about under it, while blast furnaces are lighted
around you. From a number of holes hot air and tine sand are
blown by means of compressed air into your face. After eight
hours you sit down to a piece of boiled boot, washed down with
warm ditch-water, and there you are — cue for the band ! This
is bitter sarcasm but not exaggeration.

Suez, 1st August.

All right ! I dodged the sentries, but had to do it at night.
Have been travelling twenty-four hours and am rather beat.
Will write more next mail. This is just going out. Best
regards to .... and all sorts of good wishes to yourself,
Ever yours, B. H. PALMER.

This was the last letter I had from him. With these
few words of preface let us ask Captain Haynes to tell his
tale.

WALTEE BESANT.

HAMPSTEAD,
Feb., 1894.

CHAPTER I.

THE EGYPTIAN QUESTION IN THE SUMMER OF 1882. PALMER'S
MISSION IN THE DESERT. ANTECEDENTS OF PROFESSOR
PALMER AND CAPTAIN GILL. DISAPPEARANCE OF PALMER'S
PARTY. DESPATCH OF COLONEL WARREN. ARRIVAL IN
EGYPT. INFORMATION OBTAINED AT SUEZ. CAPTAIN FOOTE'S
INQUIRIES. CONDITION OF SUEZ. A WATER - FAMINE
THREATENED. COLONEL WARREN ORDERED TO TOR.

THE circumstances which led to the British occupation of
Egypt are still tolerably fresh in the minds of the public,
although a decade has passed away since we gave hostages
to fortune by venturing on armed interposition amongst
the dwellers on the Nile. Nevertheless, it is necessary,
for the elucidation of this narrative, which is but an
episode in the Egyptian Campaign of 1882, to refer, here
and there, to the events which led to and accompanied that
interposition ; but — and this I regard in the light of a
solemn engagement — no attempt will be made to follow
the military operations further than is absolutely necessary
to throw light upon the matter in hand.

In the early part of the year, when this narrative
commences, the interest of all Europe was centred on the
Suez Canal, as distinct from Egypt ; and the desire to
preserve its neutrality, and to prevent its falling under the

2 Egyptian Question in 1882. [CHAP. i.

sway of an adversary, was an important factor in the
politics of every great Power. Owing to the disturbed and
impoverished state of Egypt at this period, our highway to
India was in peril. A Jihad, or " Holy War," was being
actively advocated in Syria, as well as in Egypt, and there
was reason to fear that the wild denizens of the desert
would assume the offensive, and seriously compromise the
situation by some exasperating action against European
ships passing through the Canal. Great Britain was
therefore bound to take some prompt action for the speedy
pacification of Egypt ; and, while it was necessary that she
should so regulate her conduct as to avoid entanglement in
a colossal struggle with other nations, it was further
essential to endeavour to prevent the pacification of Egypt
leading to a war of creeds — Moslem against Christian.

Under such circumstances, the despatch of Professor
Palmer to the Desert of the Tih was a happy conception,
which, in effect, met with a success which, perhaps, cannot
be truly estimated, owing to the disastrous death of the
erudite Orientalist. In the course of these pages the
circumstances under which Palmer and his companions
lost their lives will be dealt with ; but, when all is said,
the public can never know to what extent his efforts for
his country contributed towards the successful results of
the campaign. It is easy to imagine circumstances under
which, if Palmer had not been through the desert, the
Bedouin of Arabia might have hampered our Expeditionary
Force and impeded its progress.

We learn from the various memoirs of Professor
Palmer and Captain Grill, E.E., that the latter only
arrived in London from Tripoli on June 16th, 1882,
and was at once employed by Lord Northbrook, then
First Lord of the Admiralty, in collecting information

CHAP, i.] Despatch of Palmer. 3

as to the Bedoui tribes adjoining the Canal. With
this object in view he called upon Palmer on June 24th,
and henceforward the latter was closely occupied on the
matter. The questions arose as to whether the Bedouin
were likely to give trouble in the Canal, and whether
they could by any manner of means be detached from
Arabi Pasha's interest ; and when it was inquired who
would go out into the desert and report on its condition,
Professor Palmer consented to undertake the dangerous
and difficult attempt. He accordingly left London on a
secret mission on Friday, June 30th, via Brindisi, arriving
at Alexandria on July 6th. The writer of his memoir
states that great precautions were adopted to secure secrecy
as to the work he had in hand. It was given out that he
was going to the East for his health ; for a geographical
mission; it was believed he was going for the Times or
the Standard. Probably the general impression amongst
his acquaintances was, that he was going out as a corre-
spondent for the war that was impending in the East.

After waiting on the British Admiral, Sir Beauchamp
Seymour, at Alexandria, he proceeded by sea to Jaffa,
arriving there on July 9th ; and thence by land to Gaza,
on the confines of the desert. On July 15th he left
Gaza to visit the Bedouin of the Desert of the Tih : the
details of this perilous journey are graphically told in a
chapter of Mr. Walter Besant's memoir entitled " The
Great Eide of the Sheik Abdullah." He arrived at Suez,
which was still in the hands of the rebels, on August 1st,
and got safely on board of a British man-of-war. Next
day Suez was occupied by the British Forces, and Palmer
was appointed Chief Interpreter to Admiral Sir William
Hewett, V.C., Commanding the East Indian Squadron.
In the meantime Captain Gill had received orders to pro-

B 2

Professor Palmer. [CHAP. i.

ceed to Egypt, for duty under the Admiral. He reached
Alexandria on July 27th, and Suez on August 5th.

It will probably occur as singular that Palmer's
Expedition, as well as the subsequent Search-Expedition
through the desert, should have been carried out under the
direction of the Admiralty. This, however, will readily
be understood when it is stated that until the middle of
August the affairs of the Canal were entirely in the hands
-of the Admiralty ; and, even after it was decided to
approach Cairo from Ismailia, the British General took
direction only of affairs west of the Canal, while those in
the Canal, and in the desert to the east, as a necessity and
convenience, remained in the hands of the Admiralty.
This association of our work with the navy conduced
considerably to rapidity of movement ; and the hearty
assistance which we received from all ranks of sailors with
whom we came in contact, led, in no small degree, to any
ultimate success obtained.

It may be necessary to give some slight account here
of the careers of these two men, Palmer and Grill, the loss
of whom was felt as a severe blow to both literature and
travel ten years ago.

Professor Edward Henry Palmer was the first Oriental
scholar of his day. His intellectual activity is evidenced
by upwards of a score of books, the work of a similar
number of years. The memoir of this remarkable man,
the work of his friend, Mr. Walter Besant, is well known ;
and the many-sided-ness of his character and life made it a
task of no small difficulty. I cannot do better than quote
Mr. Besant's own words : — " Palmer was a scholar and
student most earnest and resolute, yet always with the
heart of a boy ; so great a linguist that he stood alone, yet
always modest ; full of reliance in himself and his powers,

PROFESSOR E. H. PALMER.

CHAP, i.] Captain Gill.

yet never vainglorious ; always at work, yet always with
time for leisure ; the most serious man in the world when
he had a purpose in view, yet the most delightful and the
most mirthful of companions. It was decreed by fate that
this great Oriental scholar was to become a friend of
gipsies, a conjurer and magician, an intrepid explorer of
un visited deserts, a writer of, leading articles, a translator
of the New Testament, a mesmerist, and, among his friends,
a raconteur of the first order. Finally, it was ordered for
him that he should end his days after an exploit un-
paralleled, and in a manner strange, wonderful, and tragic ;
and that he should find a resting-place with England's
heroes."

Captain William John Gill entered the Royal Engineers
in 186*4. Being a man of great energy and enterprise,
with both the taste for travel and the means of gratifying
it, he had gained considerable reputation as an explorer of
the unknown districts of Central Asia. An account of his
first voyage of exploration is given in the " Clouds in the
East," by Colonel V. Baker, with whom Gill travelled in
Persia in 1873. Three years later Gill started on his first
journey to China. His aspirations were directed to a
journey through North-West China to Kashgoria, and so
to Europe : but this proving impracticable from the
troubled aspect of affairs between England and Eussia in
1878, he turned southwards, and passed through Tibet to the
Irawadi River. The account of his journey was given to
the world in 1880, in " The River of Golden Sand ; " and
the merits of the explorer were recognised by both the
Geographical Societies of London and Paris with the
presentation of their gold medal. Between 1880 and his
embarkation for Egypt in 1882 Gill had not been idle.
Turkey, Afghanistan, and Tripoli were the scenes of his

6 Palmer re-enters the Desert. [CHAP. i.

energetic devotion to his country's service ; and returning
from Tripoli via Constantinople, he was a few days later
despatched on his last journey, to join the staff of the
Expeditionary Force in Egypt.

On August 6th Grill and Palmer met together again,
and considered their arrangements for re-entering the
desert from Suez. There has been considerable discussion
in public print as to the primary object of their proceeding
to the desert, but three objects appear to have been
certainly in view, viz. :—

(1) Buying camels ;

(2) Keeping the Bedouin available for transport and
control of camels ;

(3) Cutting the Syrian telegraph.

Grill and Palmer both state in their journals that their
instructions were, to go into the desert to cut the telegraph
wires, which, though they cross the Canal at El Kantara,
could not be cut there without infringing the neutrality of
Suez Canal. The party were also to be at Nackl on
August 12th to meet Sheik Misleh, Amir of the Tiyahah;
and it would appear from Gill's journal that after proceed-
ing some way into the desert, probably as far as Nack],
Palmer was to remain there for a conference of sheiks,
while Gill was to proceed north to cut the telegraph-wire.
At Palmer's request, a naval officer (Lieutenant Harold
Charrington, Flag-Lieutenant to Admiral Sir William
Hewett) joined the party, and they started from Ayun
Musa, a watering-place a few miles from Suez, on August
9th. They were accompanied by Gill's dragoman, Khalil
Atek (a Syrian Christian), Palmer's cook, Bokhor (a Jew),
and two Bedouin, Metter Abu Sofia, and his nephew,
Salami Ibn Aid, of the Lehewat tribe, besides camel-men.

At the time of their departure the desert was sealed to

CAPTAIN W. J. GILL, E.E.

CHAP, i] Warren Asked for.

Europeans, and when they left Ayun Musa the party
disappeared. On August 1 1th disquieting rumours reached
Suez that the party had met with some accident ; hut" as
such rumours frequently accompany such expeditions, no
credence was placed upon them. On August 23rd, no
news of the party being yet forthcoming, the Admiralty
telegraphed out : "If another officer is wanted to deal with
Bedouin, Colonel Warren, E.E., is disposable. Shall he he
sent out ? " To which the Admiral replied : — " Should like
Warren sent." Two days afterwards a rumour concerning
the looting of Palmer's camp was telegraphed home ; hut
it was then stated by the Admiral, Sir William Hewett,
that he did not feel anxious for the safety of the party ;
and on the same day Admiral Hoskyns telegraphed the
safe arrival at Suez of Gill — a piece of information which,
unfortunately, was incorrect, but which caused it for some
days to be generally supposed that Gill had returned from
the desert in safety, and that the remainder of the party
were safe with Metter Abu Sofia.

The circumstances which led to the selection of Colonel
Warren to head the Search -Expedition are set forth in
some rough notes which will be found in Appendix
A. A somewhat singular coincidence is therein set forth.
On the night of August ,10th, whilst Professor Palmer was
being waylaid and taken prisoner by the Bedouin in the
desert, Colonel Warren was busily engaged in his quarters
at Chatham, dictating to me a report embodying certain
proposals for dealings with the Bedouin ; and therein
set forth the prime necessity of guarding against treachery
and assassination. The Bedoui, though courteous and
hospitable, is strangely wanting in faithfulness where
white people and Christians are concerned ; but, although
he will not scruple to rob and murder those whom he finds

We reach Egypt. [CHAP. i.

in his power, yet he is very chary of doing either if his
victims are capable of active, though maybe on the whole
ineffectual, resistance. Thus, to be well-armed, and to be
alert and able to use one's weapons with effect, goes far to
render one secure from ill-treatment by the Bedouin. As
this report was being written, Palmer, trusting all to his
Bedoui guide, having fallen into an ambush, had dis-
suaded his companions from all attempt at resistance-
resistance which might have at least resulted in the three
Englishmen exacting summary penalty for the treachery
shown them — and, trusting to his powers of pleading and
argument to extricate them from their critical position,
was placing the party unreservedly in the power of the
hostile Bedouin.

On August 24th Colonel Warren received a telegram
from the Admiralty, saying his services might be required
at once at the seat of war. Arrangements were rapidly
completed, and, drawing one companion from Chatham,
another from Southampton, while a third was on his way
to join him from Ireland, he left London next evening by
the night-mail for Brindisi and the Suez Canal.

We arrived at Port Said on August 31st, and finding
that our steamer was to remain there some days to coal,
we landed, and put up at the Hotel des Bains. Here an
extensive business was going on between the war-corre-
spondents and natives, relative to the former proceeding to
the " front " by the banks of the Suez Canal, which was the
only road open ; it being very uncertain to what extent
these banks were exposed to marauders from among
Arabi's fanatical adherents. Scarcely had we got our
rooms at the hotel, and sat down to lunch, when, owing to
the good offices of Sir Eedvers Buller, we received a
message from Captain Wilson, of H.M.S. Jfecla, stating

LIEUTENANT H. CHAERINGTON, E.N.,
Flog- Lieutenant to Admiral Sir W. Heuett, V.C.

CHAP, i.] Search- Expedition Constituted. 9

that lie would take us at once direct to Ismailia. We
promptly got our luggage on board, and, passing a large
number of steamers waiting in the Canal, arrived at
Ismailia in the evening of September 1st. Colonel Warren
waited on the Admiral, Sir Beauchamp Seymour, and was
forthwith placed in charge of an immediate mission to
ascertain the fate of Professor Palmer and his party, and
told that no expense would be spared for this object.

The following day we were engaged at Ismailia, and
received from the Chief-of-the-Staff proclamations, to be
issued amongst the Bedouin and Fellahin, as to the object
of the military occupation. The action of Shalufi had
just occurred, and stores were being hurried up from
Ismailia to the front towards Tel el Kebir.

On September 3rd we received orders to proceed to
Suez by the first boat going down the Canal, and finding
that a transport — the Bancoora — was just moving out,
we followed her in a launch, and succeeded in reaching
her in time to take our passage to Suez. Lake Timsah at
this time presented a very unusual appearance, being
crowded with vessels of all descriptions. There were
numerous men-of-war engaged in the service of the
maritime base of our army, and in the protection and
conduct of the Canal ; the transports which transferred the
army from Alexandria to their new base of operations at
Ismailia, were there, and, in addition, a fleet of white
vessels which had brought the Indian contingent from the
East. Altogether, the scene was of the busiest, and we
could not but experience regret at leaving it for doubtful,
and less hopeful, duties down the Red Sea.

On arrival at the Bitter Lakes in the evening we
found all traffic stopped, by the grounding of the Durham
Castle in the Canal, and we remained there all night.

10 Hostile Bedouin. [CHAP. i.

Next day, there being no immediate prospect of moving
on, we left our baggage in the Bancoora, and landed at a
flare. Here we waited until the arrival of the little steam-
boat which carried the mails to and fro, and in which we
secured a deck-passage to Suez. The country in the
vicinity of the (/are did not invite a close inspection, and,
as we were then unaware of the proximity of the supposed
crossing of the Israelites, over what was, at the time of the
Exodus, the sea, we spent the time we had to wait there
in the shade afforded by the flare-keeper's garden. The
heat just now was excessive, and as we were in our heavy
English uniforms, having had no time to get a proper
outfit before leaving England, we felt it a good deal.

It was matter of hourly expectation that the steamers
passing through the Canal at this time would be attacked
by the Bedouin ; and no doubt the soldiers in the crowded
transports would have suffered from their fire, even if only
a few rifles had been ranged along the Canal : but at this
time nearly all the Bedoui tribes, except the Towara, were
gathered together at Mahada, the nearest water to Ismailia,
east of the Canal, and were there awaiting the expected
defeat of the British troops by Arabi Pasha, ready to
swoop down upon them and loot their belongings as soon
as the opportunity occurred. This gathering of Bedouin
was constantly asserted, by those who knew the country
well, as numbering 50,000 men, but the true number could
not have exceeded 10 per cent, of this, or 5000 men. It
is indeed open to considerable doubt whether it would be
possible, on account of the deficiency of water, to gather
together 5000 Bedouin anywhere in Arabia Petrsea, except,
perhaps, at Gratie, and not even there without making such
preparations for the development and service of the water-
supply as the Bedouin by themselves were very unlikely

CHAP. L] Admiral Sir W. Hcivett, V.C. 11

to attempt. However, whatever the number might have
been, there was some little danger to the launches that
patrolled the Canal and carried the mails, since they were
completely dominated by the canal banks ; and this helped to
alleviate the otherwise tedious nature of the run down to Suez.

Soon after noon we were landed at the Suez h arbour -
works, ravenous with hunger, and found a small cafe,
where we obtained some sardines, grapes, and bread. We
had no notion where the troops or ships were, but by good
luck hailed a boat which proved to belong to the flag-ship,
and were taken on board. Finding that the Admiral was
now staying on shore, at the naval hospital, some miles
off, we made our way up there, and reported our arrival to
him on September 4th, just twenty-six days after Palmer's
party had left Suez on their ill-fated journey, and ten days
after our leaving London.

We were received by the Admiral in the most hospitable
manner, and were introduced by him to an Egyptian
officer, Osman Bey Rafat, A.D.C. to the Khedive, who
had been specially sent to Suez to assist in the search after
Palmer's party ; and Colonel Warren was informed that
Osman Bey and he were to act as colleagues in the matter.
It was then arranged that we should proceed to Tor, the
port of Sinai, in H.M.S. Cockatrice, which was under
orders to go there to take a present of grain and other food
for the monks of Sinai, the latter being reported to be
starving, owing to supplies being cut off by the war ; and
Colonel Warren was to try and obtain information about
Professor Palmer, and open up communication with the
Bedouin of the Sinaitic peninsula.

And now, before commencing our narrative in detail, it
seems necessary to make some preliminary observations in
order to explain the position of affairs.

12 Position of Affairs. [CHAP. i.

The Jihcid was being proclaimed among the Moslems
in all directions. Hostile Bedouin occupied the desert
around Suez to the west of the Canal ; while communica-
tion with the desert to the east had almost entirely
ceased. The following letter from the Governor of Nackl
to the Governor of Akabah, written on September 9th, will,
from the extraordinary colour it throws over current events,
give some idea of the position of affairs to the east of the
Canal. " The English Christians attacked the Bedouin
near Ismailia " (probably refers to action of Shalufi), " when
they were much in need of water, and the Sweet-Water
Canal was blocked, so that none could go down to Suez
from Ismailia. Then at night the English attacked the
Bedouin, who ran away and informed Arabi Pasha ; so he
came from Kafr Dowar with plenty of troops and attacked
the enemy, and has taken all their guns and arms as gain
to the Moslems. Many prisoners ; Ismailia destroyed ;
and the Christians of that place are very excited and
afraid."

At the time of Palmer's departure for Ayun Musa on
August 9th, there were still some native Greek families
belonging to Suez living there; for the East India fleet
had but just arrived, the British troops had not entered the
Canal, and the Eastern Bedouin had not, in the vicinity of
Suez, shown the same hostility as had the Egyptian
Bedouin. Thus when, on August 13th, one of Palmer's
camel-men named Saad suddenly appeared, and stated that
the baggage of his party had been looted, no particular
alarm was felt, as the looting of the baggage of travellers
in the desert might occur during the most profound peace.
When, however, the acting-governor of Suez, Eeschid Bey,
acting under the instructions of Sir William Hewett, sent
a party out to bring Saad into Suez, the Arabs at Ayun

CHAP. L] Captain Footcs Enquiries. IS

Musa would not permit it : then, for the first time, the
Greek families realised that there was something very wrong,
and retreated hastily into Suez, leaving their native gardeners
behind. In a few days the gardeners took refuge in Suez,
stating that the houses at Ayun MiAisa had been broken
into and pillaged, and the gardens looted. Such a pro-
ceeding is of very rare occurence among the Bedouin, and
meant war ; and on our arrival at Suez all communication
with Ayun Musa was cut off, and any Bedouin living
there were known to be hostile to the British.

On August 21st, Sir William Hewett, hearing that
some news of Palmer's party might be obtained through
the Greek Archbishop at Tor, ordered Captain Foote of
H.M.S. Ruby to proceed there in the Indian Govern-
ment steamer Amberwitch, accompanied by the Greek Con-
sul for Suez, M. Metzakis, who was known to the Greek
Archbishop. Captain Foote returned to Suez on August
31st, and reported as follows : " It would appear from a
general summary of the information obtained that Mr.
Palmer, in company with Sheik Abu Sofia (Metter
Sofia) proceeded from Ayun Musa to the country of a
tribe called Quidetto,* and then on to the country of a
tribe called Karabinda,* the baggage following in the
rear. On the day after leaving Ayun Musa, about mid-
day, on reaching a sand-hill a large number of Bedouin
appeared and presented their guns. Sheik Sofia requested
Mr. Palmer to get down from the dromedary he was
riding and mount his, which was a better one, the sheik
mounting the dromedary of Mr. Palmer, which had the
money ; there is another version of this report, and that is,
that the sheik took Mr. Palmer on his dromedary, behind

* Probably these mean Haiwatat and Terebin.

14 Information obtained at Suez. [CHAP. i.

him. No information could be obtained as to the fate of
the two officers, except that the son of Sheik Abu Motarka
(of the tribe through whose district they were passing) is
reported to have been wounded, but whether by one of the
two officers accompanying Mr. Palmer no accurate infor-
mation could be obtained, nor could it be ascertained what
had become of the officers. M. Metzakis has arranged
that information is to be obtained by Bedoui employes of
the Greek church, and I believe that in six days something
more definite will be forthcoming from Tor."

On September 1st, H.M.S. Cockatrice had arrived at
Suez with Osman Bey Eafat on board, directed by the
Khedive to assist in making inquiries. As he was a
Syrian from Hebron, he could claim some acquaintance
with the desert Bedouin, and it was expected that he would
be able to give valuable assistance.

Telegrams had also been sent to. Mr. Consul Moore of
Jerusalem, telling him of the disappearance of the party,
.and asking him to get news from Sheik Misleh of the
Tiyahah, whom Palmer had directed to meet him at Nackl.
A reply had been received from Mr. Moore to the effect
that Misleh had gone to Nackl, had waited there two days
beyond the appointed time, till August 14th, but that
Palmer had not appeared.

Thus all the information we were in possession of on
our arrival was — that the baggage had been plundered ;
that Palmer had escaped with Metter Abu Sofia ; and
that Gill had probably left the party to cut the telegraph
wires, and had returned in safety. Robberies have so often
taken place in the desert, and murder of Europeans so
seldom, that there was no reason for supposing that any
foul play had occurred, and all the Arab stories went to
show that the party had escaped unhurt.

CHAP. L] Condition of Suez. 15

It was commonly reported that the party on being
plundered had escaped towards Sinai, and some confusion
of names, with reference to the locality of the place of
attack, confirmed this report. The party were attacked in
Wadi Sadr, only about forty miles from Suez ; but so little
was known by the Suez people of their own neighbour-
hood, that this name was unknown to them, and it was
assumed as a fact that the attack took place in Wadi Sidri,
close to the Wadi Mukateb, in the Sinaitic peninsula.
This was a most unfortunate assumption, as it gave an
entirely different complexion to the whole transaction, and
threw the responsibility of the robbery on the Towara, in
whose territory Wadi Sidri is, whereas Wadi Sadr is in
Terebin and Haiwatat territory. On our arrival this trans-
ference of site was accepted by all as quite correct ; and it
was only after considerable research and investigation that
we ascertained the fact of this initial error in the supposed
circumstances of the case.

The state of Suez at this time was indescribable ; the
Arab population almost to a man sided with Arabi Pasha
against the English ; but yet they feared the Bedouin. The
most extraordinary ignorance existed about the state of
affairs at Ismailia ; and the air was filled with the shadows
of panics relative to the town being attacked and sacked
by hordes of Bedouin — all perfectly absurd in the face of
the ample precautions taken by Sir William Hewett. The
Europeans were expecting every day to hear of the great
battle which was to wipe out the Egyptian Army ; while
the Moslems were expecting to hear of the British being
swept into Lake Timsah. Grave reports were being spread
about the state of our troops — that they were incapable of
standing the heat ; that they were dying of fever and in a
state of mutiny ; that they could not possibly stand the

16 Mr. Consul West. [CHAP. i.

prolonged strain — all ridiculous nonsense, as there was
nothing that British troops had not vigorously passed
through, campaign after campaign, in former years.

The timely seizure of the Sweet-Water Canal hy Sir
Garnet Wolseley, and the repair of the cut made in it by
Arahi Pasha near Nifichi, had been effected ; but, never-
theless, the water in the Sweet- Water Canal was gradually
falling lower and lower, and a great alarm of impending
water-famine was paralysing the people at Suez. In
former days the town had been dependent for its water
upon the springs at Ayun Musa ; but that supply was now
insufficient for the wants of the modern town, and it was also
in the hands of the Bedouin. After the occupation of the
town by the Admiral, the happy idea had occurred of filling
one of the dry docks with fresh water ; this was carried out
most successfully by Captain Foote, thus giving Suez a chance
for a few days, should the Sweet-Water Canal run dry.

Colonel Warren received authority from the Admiral
to make the necessary arrangements for effecting an entry
into the desert at Tor, and our time for preparation being
very limited, we had to make great haste. We visited the
British Consul, Mr. West, who had had forty years' ex-
perience at Suez, and was looked up to as an authority by
all around. Prom his position he would necessarily have
the closest connection with our work, and, moreover, he
was to accompany us to Tor. The ready assistance he
gave us at all times greatly helped us in the conduct of
our inquiries, and much conduced to the success of the
expedition. Our baggage having arrived with the Bancoora,
and been deposited at the Docks, three miles away from
Suez, we appealed to Mr. West for assistance to get it
up to the Suez Hotel. This, in ordinary times, may be
a matter of great ease, but at that time, everything being

CHAP, i.i Preparations for going to Tor. 17

topsy-turvy, it was no small matter to find means for
doing anything out of the ordinary course ; and it took
half the day to get camels and load them, and to bring
the luggage a distance of three miles.

Our time for preparation before leaving for Tor only
amounted to a few hours ; and we had not only to
supplement our deficient kit by curious garments which we
obtained in the native bazaar, but we had also to obtain
servants and an interpreter. Everyone worth his salt had
already been taken into Government service ; and, after
much trouble, the services of one Hassan were engaged, for
five shillings per diem, as servant. This man had acted as
a kind of tourists' guide in Suez, and knew a few words of a
great many languages ; he probably had never done a real
day's work in his life, and was neither ornamental nor useful.
We also engaged one, Del Borgo, as interpreter; he was
a very decent fellow in his own line, but talked very
imperfect English, and was not over bright.

We visited the Greek families which had come in from
Ayun Musa, getting very little further information from
them, except the impression that Metter Abu Sofia,
Palmer's guide, was implicated in the attack on him ; but
as they called him Metter Nassar it was supposed they
meant Musa Nusier of the Towara. The confusion was
still further increased by the fact that Palmer called Metter
Sofia by the name Umtunjar. We also made the acquain-
tance of a Persian merchant, named Ossad, who gave us
information which proved of importance subsequently.
He said that Musa Nusier, head-sheik of the Towara of
Sinai, had got frightened on receiving the letter from the
Governor of Suez relative to the disappearance of Professor
Palmer, and had left the vicinity of Tor, fearing that he
would be taken prisoner and punished. According to this

18 Exceptional State of Desert. [CHAP. i.

man, the Bedouin had been instigated by Arabi Pasha's
party against the Christians, quite independent of the attack
on Professor Palmer; and subsequent evidence indicated
that Musa Nusier received a letter from the Governor of
El Arish, directing him to massacre the Christians ; but
he had refused to act on it.

Among other inquiries, we visited the prison and
interrogated two Arabs who had been captured at the
action of Shalufi. Colonel Warren wanted to give them
their liberty and let them take letters to the tribes in the
desert ; but, strange to say, they would not take their
liberty on such terms ; and said they would rather die at
once, for they would be sure to be killed by the Bedouin if
they went among them on such an errand. This showed
a very curious and unusual state of affairs in the desert.
They said they were from near El Arish, and belonged to
a Sheik Agag's tribe ; but we could not ascertain who they
really were, and the odd part of the matter was that Osman
Bey, who was brought up at Hebron, and ought to have
known something about the tribes towards Syria, could
not be certain to what tribe they belonged.

CHAPTEE II.

VOYAGE IN H.M.S. " COCKATRICE." ARRIVAL AT TOR. INFORMA-
TION RECEIVED. LETTER TO PALMER. DIFFICULTIES OF
DIVIDED AUTHORITY. DEPARTURE OF OSMAN BEY RAFAT AND
THE GREEK CONSUL. AT TOR IN THE ABSENCE OF THE
" COCKATRICE." ARRIVAL OF LIEUTENANT BURTON. NEWS
OF ARABI'S COLLAPSE. COYNESS OF MUSA NUSIER. STANDING-
CAMP IN THE DESERT. MR. WEST LEAVES FOR SUEZ. WAITING
FOR MUSA. RETURN TO TOR. RESULTS OF OUR MISSION TO
TOR.

ON Wednesday, September 6th, H.M.S. Cockatrice was to
be ready to proceed to Tor in tbe afternoon ; but, our party
being unable to get together in time, her departure was
postponed until the evening. She was burdened with
about two tons of wheat and biscuits bought in the town,
with thirty sacks of wheat supplied by the commissariat,
and fifty sacks of beans shipped by the Governor —
stores which were to be handed over to the Greek Arch-
bishop at Tor, for the use of the monks of the convent of
Mount Sinai. Before starting Captain Eoote came on
board and had a talk with Colonel Warren, putting him in
possession of all the information he had gathered on the
subject of the missing party.

We left Suez at 7.30 p.m., under Captain Grenfell's
charge, our party consisting of Colonel Warren, Mr. West
(English Consul), M. Metzakis (Greek Consul), Osman
Bey Kafat, myself, and Quartermaster-Sergeant Kennedy,
E.E. We also took Del Burgo, our interpreter, and our
lazy Arab servant, Hassan.

c 2

20 H.M.8. "Cockatrice:' [CHAP. a

The Cockatrice is a little paddle-wheel gunboat, well
known on the Danube ; she had been brought over to
Egypt on account of her light draught and general handi-
ness. Our party was rather large for the limited accom-
modation of a ship-of-war of her tiny dimensions ; but

H.M.S. " COCKATRICE.

Captain Grenfell was equal to the occasion, gave us a
capital dinner, and fitted us all out with sleeping accom-
modation. A strong, but very warm breeze was blowing,
and we chatted away until deep into the night, our
medium for conversation being French.

Those who were fond of observing Nature were up
before sunrise next morning, anxious to see the coast of
Sinai. At first we could only see leaden-coloured clouds,
with the white -flecked bubbling sea around ; but as
morning broke a most glorious view opened upon us. The
rosy clouds gradually diminished and disappeared, and the
red, castellated mountains of the peninsula, cut and
crannied by innumerable fissures, stood boldly out in the
clear azure sky ; while all around us, and reaching appa-
rently to the foot of the mountains, stretched a seething
mass of waters, intensely blue, and broken up by lines of
white sea-horses, racing along under the freshening breeze.

CHAP, ii] Arrival at Tor. 21

The pleasant gurgling sounds made by the paddle-wheels
on the water, and the spray sprinkled amid the heated air,
suggested a coolness and enjoyment to our senses after the
oppressive heat of a September night in the Red Sea.

About noon we neared the shore sufficiently to see that
there was a flat plain stretching far inland between the
coast and the foot of the mountains, and soon grove after
grove of palm-trees appeared in view. At the edge of the
water the little town of Tor was seen, a few well-built
stone houses standing out in spotless white and dazzling
brightness against yellow plains and deep, green palm-
groves. Three flags floated lazily over the town — the
Egyptian, the Custom House, and the Sanitary.

The harbour of Tor is guarded by a coral-reef, through
the entrance of which we carefully picked our way to an
anchorage. Our appearance evidently put the whole
population into commotion ; and it was clear that many a
one deemed his presence undesirable, for we saw camels
and donkeys moving hastily away. These, it turned out,
belonged to Bedouin, who had come in from the desert
to bully the inhabitants, and levy black-mail of dates from
the luxuriant groves around. Since Captain Foote had left
in the Amberwitch they had been threatening to sack the
town, and had led the inhabitants an anxious time, until
our unexpected arrival ; for, though the Towara as a tribe
are mild compared to other Bedouin, they can be truculent
among townsfolk, and there was a strong war-party among
them, whose passions were fanned by emissaries of Arabi,
sent by the Haiwatat sheiks at Cairo.

It was amusing to find, however, that amid all the
bustle and disturbance the quarantine official came off as
usual to demand our bill of health, as though all the details
of Egyptian routine were still in full operation. Needless

22 Reception at Tor. [CHAP. n.

to remark that all formalities were quietly attended to, and
we got leave from the official to land, though it is
doubtful whether the quarantine regulations would have
been allowed to interfere with our intentions in that
respect.

All Tor was now on the beach, eager to know our
errand. The townspeople were glad to see us, looking
upon us as deliverers, and yet somewhat afraid to assist us
openly, for fear of our sudden departure leaving them again
to the merciless Bedoui freebooters. As we approached
in the steam-launch the people collected in groups near the
landing-place ; then some, rushing into the water, carried
us triumphantly to land on their shoulders.

The town of Tor consists of a few well-built mansions
and a collection of mud huts, sheltering a population of
two hundred to three hundred persons ; this was, at the
time of our visit, augmented by some fifty fugitives from
Suez. The garrison consisted of a Governor, of the rank of
bonlak-bashi (sergeant-major), and four soldiers. These
received us with becoming dignity, and escorted us to the
convent establishment, where the Greek Archbishop was
staying. The convent building at Tor is merely a depot
for stores, the real convent being at Mount Sinai. It is a
two-storeyed dwelling, with a flat roof, and a wooden
balcony to the upper floor. There is a large court -yard in
rear, with small dwellings for the inferior monks ; the whole
entourage being eminently defensible, even with the few
men we could put into it.

We were conducted into the reception room, a large
and barely -furnished room, where we were received by the
Archbishop, white headed, humble, and venerable. He
was clothed in white from head to foot, with black
adjuncts, and the usual head-dress. He had a picture on

CHAP, ii.] The Greek Archbishop. 23

the wall of a former Patriarch of Jerusalem, an old friend
of Colonel Warren's, and this put us on good terms at once.
Very pleased was he to hear of the seasonable present sent
to him by Sir William Hewett, and he commented upon
the goodness of the British nation, and foretold all success.

The convent of Sinai is in the habit of giving bakshish
to the Bedouin in the shape of bread and other food, and
now that all supplies were cut off the Bedouin were
getting clamorous ; and finding they could frighten and
alarm the monks by bluster, they had used their power
with much effect, and had greatly reduced the convent
stores. The monks, at the time of our arrival, were in a
state of despondency, brooding over the two evils that
appeared to stare them in the face — on the one hand,
starvation, and on the other, the sacking of the convent
and massacre of its inhabitants. Under ordinary circum-
stances they would have felt that their lives would be
spared, for the Towara Bedouin know full well the annual
value to them of the convent in their midst. But there
was a mysterious influence abroad, the effect of which
could not be truly estimated. There were strangers in the
Towara camp who had stigmatised the head-sheik, Musa
Nusier, as a traitor to the Moslem faith, and advocated a
Jihad and its concomitant, the massacre of all Christians.

On hearing that we intended stopping a short time at
Tor, the Archbishop at once offered all the rooms in the
house, except his own, an offer we were very glad to accept
for we were anxious to get intimate with the people at
once. We were put into possession of our rooms, including
a kitchen, with an old monk as cook attached to it — a most
worthy old gentleman, and a really good cook. Captain
Grenfell brought us food from on board ship.

The monks had little news to offer us, but a feeling

24 Report of Palmer's Safety. [CHAP. n.

prevailed that the party we were in search of had been
attacked and made prisoners, and were still alive. Our
first effort was to get into communication with the
Bedouin, from whom alone we could get reliable informa-
tion, and for this purpose we went to see Ali Effendi, the
Governor of Tor. He was a man with little mind or
enterprise, and had no knowledge of anything beyond the
most limited idea of his duty. He entered into long
accounts of the dangers which he, as a loyalist, had
run from the Bedouin, after the departure of the
Amberwitch ; but, he said, he was quite at our disposal,
pointing out very truly, however, that as a government
official he was not a persona grata to the Bedouin, and
suggesting that any overtures should be made through the
principal Christian merchants, MM. Kostandi and Hannin.
The information we obtained was to the following
effect. On the evening of August 1 1th, Palmer's party
was molested by twelve men of the Haiwatat tribe, and
subsequently fell into an ambuscade, when one of the
party fired his revolver and wounded a Bedoui. Subse-
quently the party, consisting of Palmer, Charrington and
Gill, surrendered. Metter Sofia, their guide, escaped
with the money that Palmer had taken with him to buy
camels. The party was carried captive into Syria, and
the Bedouin threatened that they would give them over to
Arabi's party if they were not ransomed. Metter offered
£10 each as a ransom, and increased it to £30, but ceased
further bargaining, doubting the good faith of the captors-.
There was a further report that the Bedouin had stripped
the party of the clothes they had on, and left them no
protection against the sun.

The Greek Consul made a good deal of mystery over
the evidence of the Greeks, and there was no little diffi-

CHAP II.]

Communication with Sheik Sala.

25

culty in getting it properly sifted. The account, too, was
so much in keeping with those of former years, relating to
other travellers who had been robbed and left to find
their way back in a state of nudity, that it was quite
probable that the story might be altogether a surmise and
nothing more ; and at Colonel Warren's request M.
Metzakis wrote a letter to the convent of Mount Sinai,
asking if the stories told could be supported by any
independent witnesses from among the Bedouin. MM.
Kostandi and Hannin impressed upon us the fact that the
Bedouin were angry at the attempt Captain Foote had
made to communicate with them ; and after he had left
they had in consequence come down and threatened to sack
the town. At their suggestion
Colonel Warren arranged to send
a letter to a Bedoui petty sheik,
Sala by name, who was said to be
about four miles off. The letter
was duly despatched, and early
next morning the bearer returned
with a message from Sala to the
effect that he could not read, and
wished some one to go out and
read the letter to him, stipulating,
however, that it must not be a
European of importance, because

if he met such a European he would be treated as a
spy by his brother Bedouin. Accordingly, Del Burgo
went, and saw Sheik Sala and some Bedouin near the
date-palms to the south of Tor ; he gave him £2 to take
a letter to Musa Nusier, and bring back an answer in four
days, after which these Bedouin disappeared for good, and
we received no reply.

DEL BUKGO, INTERPRETER.

26

Letter to Palmer.

[CHAP. II.

During the day a Greek priest informed Mr. West
confidentially that there was a man near Tor called
Rascheidi, half-Bedoui, half-Fellah, who had formerly
been a servant of Palmer's, and who was keeping several
camels left hy him in 1870. This man was reported to
have heard that Palmer was prisoner in a wadi called
Sidri, and from his affection towards his old master he
had gone off in order to assist him ; but he had turned

back on hearing either that Palmer
was dead, or that it was not Palmer
that was a prisoner. A friend of
Eascheidi, called Farrak, was in-
troduced to Mr. West (who was
thoroughly convinced that Palmer
and his party were alive), and
Farrak expressed his willingness
to take a letter to Palmer if Ras-
cheidi would go with him. This
was all a very confidential and
mysterious affair, conducted at
Farrak's request by Mr. West,
and there was no opportunity for

cross-examination ; but eventually Colonel Warren was
allowed to see Farrak, and a letter was written to Palmer
and entrusted to him. The letter ran as follows : —

Tor, Sept. 9th, 1882.

Saturday.
MY DEAR PALMER,

I am here with English Cousul (Mr. West), looking out for you ; send
word by the bearer, Aid Rascheidi, your old servant, how we can best assist
you in getting back.

We hear you are in Wadi Sidri, but have not quite learnt the exact place.
We have succeeded in sending a letter to Abu Nusier, chief of Towara, whom
I have asked to take me to Nackl in search of you, and expect him in four
days ; in meantime other means may present themselves to us. Let me know
the best plan to secure your safety and that of your party, and money will be

FAKEAK.

CHAP, ii.] Despatch of Farrak. 27

forthcoming. Keep up your spirits ! wo will act as quickly as we can con-
sistent with securing your safety. We only learnt to-day of your location in
safety.

I enclose paper and pencil for reply. The Admiral is making all efforts
for your recovery.

Your old friend,

CHARLES WARREN.

N.B. — Communication with the Bedouin is at present closed to Europeans
at all points, but we have opened it up from here for the present. I will
telegraph home news of yoiir safety as soon as I get your reply.

The Canal is occupied by the British, and our troops are half-way to
Cairo, with success in all engagements, but Arabi's party at El Arish is
strong with the Bedouin.

If you cannot send a written reply send a token that you are well, one for
each, a piece of cloth or string with three knots in it (one for each), or some
hair from your head or beard with three knots in it ; otherwise we cannot tell
that the messenger has seen you and we may lose time.

Grave discussion arose as to whether Farrak should he
left the discretion of attempting to rescue Palmer and
party without first obtaining their consent ; and Colonel
Warren had a difficult task in pressing and obtaining
concurrence in his view, that this might cause their
murder, and that it must on no account be attempted
without Palmer's consent.

With the letter was sent a pencil, paper, and a bottle
of zinc ointment for wounds and sores. At last £10 was
paid in advance to Farrak, and he left about 8 P.M. to
sleep at the palm-trees, outside the town, and start on his
errand early in the morning.

It is to be noted that there were two curious errors in
this matter, due most probably to a want of systematic
cross-examination. In the first place, Rascheidi never had
been Palmer's servant, and knew nothing about him.
He had been the servant of Mr. Wilfred Blunt, and the
camels in his charge belonged to Mr. Blunt. In the
second place, we were still under the impression that
the capture of the party took place in Wadi Sidri, which

28 Divided Authority. [CHAP. n.

is not far from Tor, in the Sinaitic peninsula, instead of
in Wadi Sadr, forty miles from Suez. We were,
therefore, under the impression that the attack had taken
place in Miisa Nusier's territory, in which case it seemed
almost certain that no great violence would have occurred ;
for the Towara were not openly at war with us, whereas
the Haiwatat, of Wadi Sadr, were a portion of the tribes
fighting for Arabi.

This incident brought home to us very forcibly the
difficult position we were in owing to our want of co-
hesion. There was first the Greek Consul, who obtained
information from the Greeks, and took his own view of
the situation ; then there was Osman Bey Kafat, in full
uniform of a Colonel in the Egyptian Army, A.D.C. to
the Khedive, who, as Colonel Warren's colleague, naturally
wished to be consulted in every step taken ; and there
was Mr. West, British Consul, who, from his position,
entered into separate confidential communications with
the Arabs. It took all one day to arrange matters with
Farrak ; and it was quite evident that with no one
empowered to give a casting vote, or to control opera-
tions, we were but courting failure.

On September 10th, the Archimandrite, or Treasurer of
the Convent, arrived from Mount Sinai. His information
did not differ substantially from the other, except that he
thought that Palmer and his companions were dead ; but
the reason he gave was that the Bedouin had seen vultures
hovering over the place where the attack was made, and
as this would have been the case if a camel had been
killed, or had died there, it did not seem to be of much
weight. He had, however, one very important piece of
news, viz., that Miisa Nusier had received a letter from
Arabi, urging an indiscriminate massacre of Christians ;

CHAP. iL] Departure of " Cockatrice." 29

but Musa, who wished to be friendly to the monks, had
buried the letter in the sand, so that no one should see it..
This might be purely an allegory, but it was important as
showing a determination on Musa Nusier's part to
preserve an attitude of neutrality during the war.

It was now evident that we should not be able to
accomplish anything with so large a company ; and as
Osman Bey Raffit conjectured that the party were not in
the desert at all, but had been carried as prisoners to Cairo,
Colonel Warren proposed that he and the Greek Consul
should undertake that part of the inquiry, while we went
inland to the place of the attack. Having secured their
assent, Captain Grenfell was asked when he could get
ready for sea, and replied he would be off at six o'clock in
the evening. We were accordingly soon busy with
despatches to the Admiral, giving an account of what had
transpired, and proposing to move inland under the care
of Musa Nusier, as soon as he should send us the necessary
provisions for the journey ; the party to consist of Colonel
Warren, Lieutenant Burton, E..E. (whom we expected to
join us on the return of the Cockatrice), myself, Quarter-
master-Serjeant Kennedy, and Del Burgo. It was proposed
to go from Tor overland to Wadi Ghurundel on the sea
coast, and to open up communication there with Captain
Grenfell in the Cockatrice, there being an anchorage in
that vicinity. With our departure from Tor on our expedi-
tion, it was arranged that Mr. West should return to Suez,
where his presence was of great importance.

As there was some danger that the Bedouin might
attack Tor during the absence of the Cockatrice, especially
for the sake of the grain still stowed away in the convent
yard, Captain Grenfell left us a corporal and three marines
to assist in the defence. We were thus enabled to keep

30 Popular Conception of Arabi. [CHAP. n.

two sentries on each night, a marine downstairs, and
Colonel Warren, myself, or Kennedy on the roof. Our
first night after the departure of the Cockatrice did not
pass without an alarm, for some friendly Bedouin arrived
to transport part of the grain to Mount Sinai ; and
coming silently through the darkness, we had little
warning of their proximity till we were attracted by the
grunts and groans of the camels in the act of kneeling on
the pavement below the balcony, and they nearly met with
a warm reception.

During our isolation there were frequent alarms of an
impending attack by the Bedouin, and we had to look to
our defences. With eight rifles and plenty of ammunition,
we felt quite prepared to stand a siege ; and the little
arrangements we made for defence did not injure the
house, and made us feel practically safe from being rushed.

Being now by ourselves we could get more accurate
information from the inhabitants, who had been in horrible
fright of the Bey in full uniform ; as for ourselves, we were
in the fullest of desert costume, having put away our
uniform on landing. As far as we could ascertain, the
orders from Arabi that reached the Bedouin came from the
fanatical governor of El Arish by way of Nackl ; and they
were couched in such a form that they seemed to be the
orders of a prophet rather than those of a military com-
mander. It was the same old story that has repeated
itself again and again in the history of Islam, and has
been the cause of outbreak after outbreak of ill-requited
faith and fanaticism. The Bedouin firmly believed Arabi
to be the prophet Isa (Jesus) foretold in the Koran, and
who is to come and raise the Moslems to their proper place
as the dominant power of the world. Arabi was credited
with the power of working miracles, and was supposed to

CHAP. iL] The Archimandrite. 31

possess two familiar spirits, or angels, resting- one on each
shoulder ; one told him of what was going on in the
present, and the other foretold the future. He was sup-
posed already to have vanquished the British in every
contest, and was only staying his hand before entirely
destroying them.

Colonel Warren had a long interview with the Archi-
mandrite, who said Musa Nusier had given his word
that the Christians should not be molested so long as the
Bedouin had enough food to eat ; but should they become
hungry, he might not be able to prevent them attacking
Tor in search of food, their powers of bartering being cut
off, as they were afraid to enter Suez. To meet this,
Colonel Warren proposed to establish a depot at Tor where
the Bedouin might exchange their produce for corn, and
to this the merchants quite agreed ; but the Archiman-
drite said it was impossible, and, of course, it would have
greatly reduced the patronage of the Greek convent, which
practically monopolises this trade.

The Archimandrite also told us that when the Am-
ber-witch first came in with Captain Foote, a rumour
was spread about that the English were about to land
five hundred men to attack the Bedouin, who thereupon
proceeded to fortify two mountain passes leading into the in-
terior ; since then they had calmed down, but they were still
uncertain what to do in consequence of the stringent orders
they received from Arabi Pasha. This information was
interesting in connection with a letter written by the
Governor of Nackl to the Governor of Akabah, and which
we subsequently obtained on visiting the latter place. The
letter mentioned the same number, five hundred men, as
having landed at Tor ; and the correspondence of these
two items of information gives some adequate idea of the

32 Rumours of Attack. [CHAP. n.

accuracy with which such rumours are handed about from
one to another in the desert.

Our life at Tor was not of a very enjoyable kind. The
days were so hot that we could not take any outdoor
exercise except in the morning and evening, when the sun
was close to the horizon. We got up every day at dawn
to get a bath in the sea before sunrise. However, a shark
showing himself close to shore one morning, we had to
bathe afterwards inside the rocks in about eighteen inches
of water. During the day we interviewed various people,
and wrote diaries or reports ; and in the evening we got
out again for a short time, and, there being a pleasant sea-
breeze, we were able to get up an appetite for the dinner
which the excellent old monk cooked for us, and to which
we were enabled to do full justice.

The townspeople were in a chronic state of alarm lest
the Bedouin should carry out their threats and attack the
town, and during the absence of the Cockatrice there was
always someone to warn us of impending attack. On the
evening of September 12th, the Archimandrite was the
alarmist, and came to us with a very grave countenance.
He stated that he had been over to the date-palms, and
had heard that an attack might be made by the Bedouin
that night. Also that another message had been received
from Arabi ordering the immediate massacre of all
Christians, and that the tribes had assembled in Wadi
Feiran to consider their course of action, Musa Nusier
being still unwilling to comply. During the night we kept
a sharp look out, but were not molested. The night was
unusually hot, and I well remember my four hours on
sentry-go on the roof ; on my beat lay the prostrate form of
the venerable Archbishop, fast asleep, and it was necessary
to step over him at every turn. Colonel Warren had

CHAP, ii.] Burton Joins Us. 33

arranged that, at the first signal of attack, all the in-
habitants should assemble in our yard, with any weapons
they could collect, and we would defend them as best we
could with our rifles. Our arrangements, however, were
never put to the test.

Early in the morning a letter was received from the
monks at Mount Sinai stating that news had arrived from
Musa Nusier, to the effect that the Governor of Nackl had
sent word that there was no occasion to inquire any further
about Professor Palmer and his party, as he (the Governor)
had killed them with his own hand. To us this message
appeared an answer to our inquiries, which had been
concocted by Musa Nusier, to clear the Bedouin of
responsibility in the matter, and throw all blame else-
where. But we learnt afterwards that the Governor of
Nackl, although he did not actually kill Palmer and his
companions with his own hand, was fanatic enough, and
confident in Arabi to such an extent as, to lay claim to
having done so.

That morning the Cockatrice returned from Suez,
bringing Lieutenant Burton, R.E., provisions for our
journey inland, and letters from the Admiral approving
what had been done. Some Press telegrams were also
received (from Bombay to Suez), stating that Arabi had
been declared by the Sultan a rebel ; that he was buying
swift dromedaries to escape across the Libyan desert ; and
that 6000 Turkish troops had landed at Port Said.

This news was not of a very authentic character, as we
now know, and was opposed by the apparent inaction of
our army before Tel el Kebir. We could hear of no
important change in the position of the troops since we
passed through Ismailia. The army at Alexandria, and
that at Ismailia, were both still confronted by entrench-

D

34 News from the ''Front." [CHAP.II.

ments bristling with rifles and cannon ; and while the
enemy could sit quietly on the defensive, conscious that
they must be attacked before we could score a move in the
game, our men exposed to the excessive heat of the
Egyptian autumn felt the shadow of sickness working
amongst them, whilst they lacked the stimulative power of
rapid forward movement. The advent of the Turkish
troops we could only view with suspicion — certainly they
would weaken rather than strengthen the Expeditionary
Forces ; and, although come presumably as our friends,
their arrival would revive the failing courage of the true
believers in their struggle against the Christians. One
retrograde step by our forces, we knew, would largely
augment the rebels' power, and convert all the Bedouin of
the desert into our active opponents ; and for ourselves we
felt that now our efforts must be redoubled to obtain access
to that information which a slight delay might remove
from us far into futurity. From the news Burton brought
us it seemed clear that there were still great hopes of
Palmer being alive. Eaoulf Pasha, the Governor of Suez,
had told him that a Bedoui had come in from the desert,
and stated that Palmer and his party were still alive, and
near Marbook. Our latest communication from Mount
Sinai also tended to confirm the supposition that the party
were alive.

On receipt of this news we visited MM. Kostandi
and Hannin to acquaint them of its purport, and asked what
would be the effect of the news upon the Bedouin ; their
reply, " God only knows," was not helpful. On asking
them what would happen when we went inland, and the
Cockatrice left, they said that the Bedouin would be sure
to come and sack the place, and that the inhabitants would
not attempt to fight, but would try to get away, either by

CHAP. ii. j The Suit an and Arabi. 35

boats or by camels. To reassure them Colonel Warren
proposed to take one hunded Towara Bedouin into pay as
a guard to Tor, paying them every day with the food we
had brought for the convent, and giving a bond to the
convent that the money to repay them would be forth-
coming. This they seemed delighted at.

As there were no tidings of Sheik Sala, who had taken
the letter to Musa Nusier, Colonel Warren settled to write
again to Musa, telling him of the news from Suez, and
warning him to keep peace in the peninsula. He also
requested him to supply, as a guard for Tor, one hundred
Bedouin, who would be paid by the British Government.
Having agreed with Mr. West as to the precise terms of
the letter, the question arose how we were to send it.
This was settled by the entry of Ali Effendi, the Governor,
who proposed to go and see Musa Nusier himself, and
bring him in by persuasion. Colonel Warren agreed to
act as Governor of Tor during his absence, and the garrison,
four zaptieUs — Osman, Ali, Yusuf and another — sturdy
fellows, thoroughly able to deal with the whole population
of Tor, and impress them with the might of the govern-
ment, were summoned and duly handed over. Ali Effendi
said that the Arabs would never believe that the Sultan
had gone against Arabi. Everybody knew that the Sultan
had conferred the Grand Cordon of the Mejidie on Arabi ;
and it was believed that he had also given him a sword
with which to slay the Christians. In fact, the Arabs all
looked upon Arabi as the Sultan's mouth-piece, and con-
sidered that his orders came direct from Stamboul. The
Governor showed great trepidation as the time came for
him to start ; but eventually he was packed off to the
palm-groves outside Tor, whence he was to start early next
morning for Musa Nusier.

i)

36 Collapse of Rebellion. [CHAP n.

The duties of Colonel Warren as acting-governor of
Tor were not very irksome, but resulted in one thing,
that the zaptielis were a good deal more alert after the
departure of the Effendi, and they certainly learnt to pay
proper salaams to British officers when they met them.

On September 16th, Farrak returned with the mysterious
Eascheidi and Ooud, another Bedoui messenger of ours.
Eascheidi asked to see Mr. West privately, and said
that as he was Mr. Blunt's servant, he could not go with
Farrak to find -Palmer unless he were guaranteed that
Mr. Blunt would not require him. He proposed to go
back to his tents to avoid suspicions, and then start in
eight or ten days' time, as though he were about to trade
in Syria. Colonel Warren came to an arrangement with
Eascheidi, and he left with the letter for Palmer.

During the day the steamship Drayon arrived from
Suez. Captain Hulton was in command, and he at once
came ashore with despatches from the Admiral, to the
effect that Arabi had surrendered and Cairo was in our
hands (September 13th and 14th). In accordance with
the wishes of the Admiral, Colonel Warren assembled the
people together in a court-yard, and, as Governor of Tor,
read out the proclamation of peace, and called for three
cheers for the Khedive. The proclamation caused some
stir, but the people had been too long under Eastern
methods of government to credit a word about Arabi 's
surrender ; their faith in him was too strong. A copy of
the proclamation was sent off after Ali Effendi to Wadi

Feiran ; and he was told to order Musa Nusier to send

*

twelve camels in at once, to take us inland. Another copy
was sent by Ooud to the Governor of Nackl, and Colonel
Warren also wrote directing the latter to send his
submission at once to the Governor of Suez. However,

CHAP, no Celebrating the Victory. 37

it afterwards transpired that Ooud was too wide awake
to allow himself near the Governor of Nackl on. such an
errand, and he was providentially robbed on the way.

That night we had a great feast at the convent in
honour of the great triumph of our army ; Captain
Orenfell brought up choice supplies from the ship, and
invited several of the old monks to join our party and test
his champagne. They pronounced it excellent, but still
not as good as araki, the fire-water of the country. No
doubt the monks had had some jolly times before in ,the
same rooms, and they were not at all loth to be merry.
One old fellow, Neoficus, the butcher, was a great friend of
ours, and prided himself upon his strength. During the
evening he challenged any of us to a trial of strength, and,
Captain Grenfell acting as our champion, the combatants
seated themselves opposite each other at a corner of the
table, and resting their right elbows on the table and
clasping hands each tried to press down his opponent's
hand till the back of it touched the table. The champions
were very equally matched, both being powerfully built
men, and after extraordinary efforts on both sides the
contest was declared to be drawn.

Colonel Warren having decided to start on our inland
journey, we were busy next day arranging for transport.
We found there were no camels at all to be hired, and were
reduced to donkeys. It was a matter of nice calculation
how many donkeys we should require to get from Tor
across the plain to the first water at Wadi Feiran ; but do
what we could it was quite evident that the supply of
donkeys available could not carry our tents and boxes, so
Colonel Warren settled to go and camp about four miles
outside Tor, at some gardens belonging to the townspeople ;
and, as we could not go to the Bedouin, try and entice the

3S Camp at tJic Palm-grove. [CHAP. n.

Bedouin to come to us. All the donkeys in the place
were paraded, but only thirty could be mustered ; these
were ordered to be ready for the following morning, and
we packed up our stores ready for starting.

At sunrise, on September 18th, we sent off six donkeys
loaded with our stores for the gardens, following with the
second cavalcade later in the morning. Arrived at the
site of our encampment, we pitched our tents and arranged
our belongings. The heat was very excessive, and . the
mosquitoes punished us severely ; we were very glad,
therefore, when the sun set, and made existence a little
more tolerable. We found, however, that all manner of
insects swarmed in our tent, for we had been foolish
enough to light our lanterns inside, and the glimmer
brought them on us in myriads.

Mr. West having returned to the Cockatrice with the
marines, our fighting strength was now reduced to four,
besides Del Burgo, our interpreter. Hassan, our cook and
servant, had been left behind at Tor, as he was nearly mad
with fright ; and on the morning before our departure
had come up with tears in his eyes and begged to be
allowed to remain where he was, for he knew we should
all be killed if we persisted in going. To supply his place
we took an Arab named Sala, who had cooked for some
tourists, and had learnt cleanliness to the extent of washing
his hands before kneading the flour for bread. For an
Arab, Sala was a marvel of a cook, being able to make
soup, a stew, boil a tin of preserved vegetables, and even
turn it out, besides boasting of many accomplishments
which he had no opportunity with us of exhibiting. We
all helped him in his work, and under the superintendence
of Colonel Warren, who was quite the clef, we all soon
bid fair to become experts. Each day while we stayed

OJIAI-. ir.-j Objects in leaving Tor. 39

here Captain Grenfell, Mr. West, and some other officers
of the Cockatrice rode over from Tor to see us, and we
endeavoured to lay before them a repast of which they
could partake. The menu generally ran to omelette and
preserved vegetables ; meat was not good in such hot
weather, and the one sheep we killed was so tough that we
were obliged to dry it in the sun and make biltong of it,
as is done in South Africa. In this way we obtained a
supply which lasted a considerable time, the more so as a
taste for this form of food is acquired only after prolonged
short diet. Our drink was oatmeal and water, commonly
called " hogs' wash," a very inoffensive drink for hot
weather ; it was kept in a large wooden half-barrel, and
was much patronised.

During the day we had to keep a constant look-out to
prevent the possibility of the camp being rushed by the
Bedouin, and at night one of the four kept guard with his
rifle ready throughout the darkness. It may be asked why
we had left our comfortable quarters at the convent, and
come out to camp in the desert. It was to reassure the
Bedouin ; to show them that we did not meditate treachery,
and had confidence in them. The reason hitherto assigned
for the non-appearance of Musa Nusier and his men, after
our repeated overtures to them, was that they were afraid
— afraid that we were only waiting under the guns of our
ship, armed to the teeth, to take them prisoners, and throw
them into chains to answer for the sins of others. Their
reasoning in this respect was far from being unnatural, for
we have met many Englishmen, ignorant indeed of the tribal
system, who expressed their opinion that it did not matter
what Bedouin were hanged so long as an example was
made ; whereas it is essential, for the punishment of such
people to be of any use, that the right persons are

40 Return of All Effcndl. [CHAP. n.

punished. In our case, however, we had not thought at
that time of punishment, we were merely working for the
liberation of Palmer's party, and we thought that by thus
going alone into the desert, and placing ourselves in their
power, we would disarm the Bedouin of their fears. We
hoped thus to influence them by showing our confidence in

H 4

(trim-. — ^.._ *

CAMP NEAR TOR.

them generally as a tribe ; but we were always on the
alert in case of an attack by some enthusiastic Moslem
who might try to rush our camp.

In the afternoon of September 19th, Ali Effendi arrived
on his camel from Wadi Feiran. He stated that he had read
Colonel Warren's letter to Musa Nusier in the presence of
five sheiks and fifteen Bedouin ; and that they said they
would have nothing to do with Arabi. Sheik Musa
evidently feared to compromise himself, and covertly
threatened and evidently frightened Ali, by proposing to
carry him off to the Governor of Nackl. He asked what
business Ali had to leave his command at such a time to
come to see him. Eventually he agreed to come back to
Tor with Ali ; but just as this was settled our messenger
reached Ali with a copy of the letter from the Governor of

CHAP, ii.] Miisa Nmier still Cot/. 41

Suez, concerning the taking of Cairo and the surrender of
Arabi. Ali read these letters out to the sheiks, who, he
said, expressed themselves pleased at the news ; but we
were well aware that both Ali and the Bedouin would
have been truly grieved if they had believed it, and they
evidently looked upon it as a hoax. Ali stated he had
told Musa it must be true, because although the document
was only a copy, it had the right consecutive official
number on it ; but Ali showed us by his inquiries that he
himself was not satisfied until he saw the original. Musa
took advantage of the order for twelve camels to say it
would take him five days, at which Ali expostulated, as
there were at least fifty camels in Wadi Feiran, but
Musa said they belonged to others. The long-and-short-
of-the-matter was, the sheik was going to wait till he
heard himself from Suez as to the truth of Arabi's
surrender, before he showed any leaning to the side of
the British.

Having given his report, Ali was sent in to Tor to get
all the camels and donkeys he could muster, Colonel
Warren having again decided to make a start for Wadi
Feiran to see Sheik Musa himself. Early next morn-
ing Ali Effendi arrived with some donkeys to take us
inland, but only one camel. Mr. West and Captain
Grenfell came and urged Colonel Warren not to go
without camels, and, the Archimandrite adding an em-
phatic warning against our entering the desert at such
a time without safe-conduct or proper means of trans-
port, we were obliged to give it up, and wait for Musa
where we were.

On September 21st, the Tenasserim troopship arrived
with despatches and telegrams, but little fresh news.
Mr. West, tired of waiting, and doubtful whether Musa

42 Cemetery near our Camp. [CHAP. n.

Nusier would come in at all, left for Suez the same day in
the Tenasserim. There was, however, little reason for us
to give up our object without letting Musa Nusier have
every chance. The only reason we could conceive that
could induce Sheik Musa not to come in, after he had
ascertained that Arabi had really surrendered, was that
Palmer had been murdered, and that Musa was implicated,
and this there was no reason for suspecting. Colonel
Warren determined, therefore, to wait two or three .days
longer, the 22nd being the day on which Musa should
come, according to his last message.

Near our camp was an extensive burial-place. There
were tombs of both Christians and Moslems, the former
arranged with feet to the east, the latter with feet to the
north. At the head of each tomb, on the right-hand side
of the body, was a little chamber containing a tot of water,
and a little shell for oil, with a wick. These little lamps
are lighted by the relatives — on Thursday night by the
Moslems, and on Saturday, or Sunday, by the Christians.
At the time of a funeral a sheep is killed at the head of
the grave, and a feast made there. We were rather startled
one evening by seeing lights in the graveyard, and a great
deal of talking and singing going on till about 10 p.m.
We found that some of the townspeople had come out to
visit the graves, and were making merry round the 7/W/\
the tomb of the patron sheik.

The evenings out here, even with the heat and
mosquitoes, were very delightful, made more so, perhaps,
by contrast after the very great heat of the day. During
the day there would generally be little or no movement in
the air ; but about sunset a hot wind would set in, and
continue blowing two or three hours. This broke the
change from the stifling heat of the day, which cracked up

CHAT-, no Vagaries of the Jerboa. 43

every wooden article with its dryness, to the cool which
sets in in these rarified atmospheres after a heavy dew.
Now we would cook and eat our evening meal ; and as long-
as the warm breeze lasted we sat about on the ground
outside the tent, smoking and talking, and did not attempt
to go to sleep until it had ceased.

One night we were each in turn, when on guard, much
exercised by a very small animal, so rapid in its movement
that in the darkness we could not quite distinguish what it
was. It seemed like a huge ant or spider, about two inches
in height and about four inches long. We made many
attempts to strike it with our sticks, but it was always too
quick for us, and when we struck at it, it would rapidly
change its position, generally circling round as fast as the
eye could follow in the moonlight, and nearinj? one from
behind. It was like a nightmare. Time after time we
repeated the attack with always the same result, to find
the object of our onslaught vanish just as we were reaching
it, and reappear gazing at us from behind. As no guns
were allowed to be fired we could not shoot it, so never
ascertained for certain what it was ; but I believe it must
have been a jerboa. Anyhow, whatever it was, it proved
a regular nuisance to us that night.

The jackals also were continually trying to get our
food, and the sentry had to have a pile of stones and tent-
pegs handy to throw at them when they approached our
larder. At times we would leave a piece of meat during
the night to simmer over the embers in a three-legged pot ;
and although we always took care to weight the lid well
with large stones, notwithstanding this precaution the
jackals would sometimes possess themselves of the contents,
by upsetting the pot and making off with the spoil before
we could interfere.

44 Astronomical Lore.

[CHAP. II.

Colonel Warren always kept the morning watch, that
being the time when an attack was most probable, and
was surprised one morning to see what appeared to be the
sun rising over the hills before its time ; he woke up
everyone to see the phenomenon. It turned out to be the
comet which had so alarmed Arabi's host before the battle
of Tel el Kebir. It was the first time we had seen it, as
being very near to the sun it had not had time, before that
morning, to rise over the Sinaitic mountains before day-
light came and rendered it invisible. It presented a most
brilliant spectacle. The meteors also that we saw on this
occasion were very numerous and beautiful.

The Arabs are very wise on the subject of stars, and
are never tired of talking about them. At this time they
were much concerned about the star Smaiyeh, which is the
star on the Turkish flag, within the crescent. When the
moon approaches this star, the Bedouin say it is very
unlucky to set out on a journey. They have this as a
command from the prophet Moses, who once disregarded
the position of the star, and was mounting his camel to
start off on a journey ; but when the camel got off its
knees the sword of Moses fell out of its scabbard, and
cutting the muscle of the camel's leg, incapacitated it.
Upon which the seer said : — " Henceforth let no man
disregard the star Smaiyeh." The star was at this time
very near to the moon, and the Bedouin would point to it
and shake their heads ominously when reference was made
to our projected journey. They are very tenacious of their
belief in their legends, and the above-mentioned position
of Smaiyeh was quite sufficient in their minds to account
for Miisa Nusier's failure to come to us at Tor.

The view of the Sinaitic mountains that we got from our
camp was very grand. Mount Serbal was the striking

We abandon our Camp. * 45

feature of the picture, standing out conspicuously in solemn
grandeur, amongst a confused mass of purple granite walls.
If the sunrise had its attractions, vividly showing up the
hard jagged outlines of these mountains, the colours on
them were more beautiful as the rays of the evening sun
set them all a-glowing in a soft pink, set out in mauve
shade and deep blue shadows ; and as the sun set and its rays-
left the tops of the peaky mountains, the whole would sink
into shade and the sky suddenly become golden pink by
the contrast.

We waited impatiently for Musa Nusier until September
24th, on which day Colonel Warren decided to strike
camp and embark on board the Cockatrice for Suez. We
accordingly sent for donkeys to convey our baggage, and
broke up our, camp in the evening. Arrived in Tor, our
things were taken aboard ship : we paid off the cook Sala,
and said good-bye to the Greek Archbishop, who, after
shaking hands, retired to the balcony of the convent
to smoke his hubble-bubble and watch our departure.
There were still arrangements to be made respecting
our various messengers despatched over the desert —
arrangements which Colonel Warren entrusted to the monk
butcher, Neoficus, who was also commissioned to send any
message to Suez that might arrive, and in any case to send
in a man after a week, whether there was any news or not.
And now nothing remained but to pay for the donkeys,
and for this the drivers were very anxious as they saw us
on the point of departure. Ali Effendi did the part of the
unjust steward to perfection, and doubled their accounts all
round. However, the sum paid after all was not very
large, and shortly after dusk we embarked on the Cocka-
trice, not at all sorry that we had left the miserable town
of Tor behind us.

46 Success in Failure. [CHAP. n.

Our expedition to Tor had not been a success, for we
had failed to open up communication with the Bedouin.
What it would have been if we had stayed two days longer
we do not know, for Musa actually arrived with the
camels, and found we had gone. However, it has often
been said that success, if dissected, may appear to be
derived from small failures, being arrived at by con-
tinually pegging away in one direction, in spite of all
obstacles; and it is probable that we owed our success
in great measure to our failure at Tor to meet Musa, for
had we met him, with the impression still on us that the
party were alive, we might have gone off after a phantom
into Syria, and have lost the thread of the history of the
attack and murder.

Although the sudden termination of the war had

o

altered all conditions in Egypt, it would be a long time
before it could affect the desert to any great extent. It
takes some time to stir up among Bedouin the fervid feel-
ing which exists among other Moslems as to their religion,
but once stirred up it cannot again be put on one side by
decree. Palmer, in his report of August 1st, had stated,
" Arabi Pasha's emissaries have set the Bedouin thinking.
They have, for instance, to a great extent kept the fast of
Kamadan, which is the first indication I have ever seen of
them paying any attention to religious duties " ; and no
doubt the Bedouin were, at that time, possessed by a
feeling towards Christians which had been foreign to their
nature for many years. It would now, the war being ended,
be more easy to open up communication from Suez
through the tribes in Egypt ; but the desert itself would
perhaps be more unsafe than before. Our plan had been
to get from the Towara among the Tiyahah, who occupied
the Till, and who were supposed to be friendly to the

CHAP, ii.] Alternative Plans. 47

British. Syria might have been a better base had it not
been that the intrigues of the Syrian officials were likely to
frustrate all success; and the Syrian Moslems in towns
bordering on the desert were bitterly hostile to Europeans,
and would thwart every effort at entering from that direction.
There were two other bases possible, Akabah and El Arish.
The former was under the influence of the Alawin, who
had the name of being very treacherous, and who are
really independent both of Egypt and Turkey. El Arish
would have been a good base, but the Governor was
reported to be a fanatic. Little was known about the place ;
there was no harbour, but a very dangerous coast : besides,
the Sowarki, the Bedouin in the neighbourhood, were
constantly at war with the Terebin, and the desert was
now very unsettled. With these considerations in view,
Colonel Warren decided that the best course was to try to
effect an entry into the desert from Suez ; by means of
the Egyptian Bedouin we should be able to open up
communication with the Bedouin east of the Canal, and
thus avoid the necessity of either taking troops or going
into the desert without escort.

Our visit to Tor had had the effect of making the monks
of Sinai our firm friends. They were impressed with the
idea that Sir William Hewett's present of grain had saved
them from starvation, and that our method of dealing with
the natives had saved their lives. It also appeared that
we had laid the basis of a firm friendship with Musa
Nusier, as soon as he should realise that Arabi had sur-
rendered, and there was no longer cause to fear the
Egyptian National party. Although Musa's actions had
shown vacillation, it is doubtful whether he had not acted
perfectly properly for the well-being of his tribe. No
Bedoui could have foreseen that the British troops would

48 Musa Nuswr^s Attitude. [CHAP. n.

be successful, in fact they all thought otherwise ; and
from that point of view Musa had acted in a friendly
spirit, and with considerable firmness, in not siding with
the Haiwatat, and attempting to massacre the monks of
Sinai. While we were at Tor, some Haiwatat were at
Wadi Feiran, daily urging that the town and convent
should be attacked ; but Musa stood firm, and said that if
they stirred a foot to make his people follow the steps of
those who had attacked Palmer and sacked Ayun Musa,
he would bring down those among his tribe who would
obey him and stop them. We subsequently ascertained also
that, while we were in camp at the gardens near Tor, Musa
Nusier had Bedouin out surrounding us, as he asserted, to
protect us, but certainly to watch us. Thus, whether we
are to credit Musa with our not being attacked while out
in this curious position, or attribute it to the fact that we
were always on the alert, and could not have been captured
without bloodshed, is uncertain.

Among other difficulties, Mr. West believed, and the
facts upheld the view, that Captain Grenfell had brought
to Suez, and we had taken to Tor, an official who was
acting directly for Arabi, and who had been instrumental
in keeping the Bedouin from us by stating that it was
intended to make them prisoners. This man left us by
the Cockatrice on September 8th.

CHAPTER III.

ARRIVAL AT SUEZ. NEW PROPOSALS FOR CONTINUING THE SEARCH.
JOURNEY TO CAIRO. ARRANGEMENTS FOR WORKING THE
DESERT. ZAGAZIG. TRUTH ABOUT THE ALLEGED LOOTING BY
THE INDIAN CONTINGENT AT ZAGAZIG. RETURN TO SUEZ.
RAID ON AYUN MUSA AND CAPTURE OF SELAMI, ONE OF
PALMER'S CAMEL-DRIVERS. MISSION TO AKABAH. PREPARA-
TIONS FOR ENTRY INTO THE DESERT. SUEZ SHORT OF WATER.

WE returned to Suez from Tor on the evening of Septem-
ber 25th, just a month having elapsed since we left
England, and, finding that Sir William Hewett was at
Cairo, we telegraphed to him for instructions. The
weather was still exceedingly hot, and the change back
again from desert costumes into our thick home uniforms
was most uncomfortable.

Great changes had taken place since we left Suez.
Then all movement was towards the front, and success lay
in the balance ; now Arabi's army had succumbed, the tide
had turned, and the East Indian Squadron and transports
were only awaiting the termination of the Grand Review
at Cairo to leave for the East with the Indian troops.
The Bedouin, however, had not given in, except where
located near the large towns. The desert near Suez, to
east and west, was still sealed ; and Mr. West had not
been able to make any advance whatever in acquiring
information concerning the missing party. The Bedouin
between Suez and Cairo were known still to be in a very

E

50 Egyptians all Arabists. [CHAP. in.

excited state, anxiously waiting for any opportunity of
plunder.

We took up our abode at the Suez Hotel, and after
seeing Mr. West, paid a visit to Eaoulf Pasha, the
Governor of Suez. He was a fine old man of Turkish
descent, and had formerly been an Admiral. He was a
perfect governor according to Eastern ideas, being quick
and masterful, courteous where courtesy was not thrown
away, and showed none of the contaminating effects
of an unassimilated European civilisation. With him
was a very able deputy, Eeschid Bey, a native Egyptian,
who had been in government service for twenty years, and,
having risen by his own ability to his present position,
was well up in the etiquette and duties of his office.
Eeschid Bey had remained at Suez throughout the cam-
paign ; not so much from his liking the position, but, as
wicked rumour had it, on account of his missing the last train
which took his colleagues and the garrison to Cairo, when
Suez was occupied by the British troops. He was thus a
very interesting and unique specimen of an Egyptian who
had not adhered to Arabi Pasha. We could discover,
however, no difference between him and other Egyptians.
All were entirely one with Arabi ; because Arabi was a
native Egyptian, whilst the Turkish rulers were regarded
as aliens and foreigners. We in England are too much
accustomed to lump these Easterns all together, without
recognising that they consist of the most diverse entities.
To the Egyptians and Syrians, the Turks are only in a
degree less barbarous and alien than the Christian nations
of Europe.

Colonel Wan-en's first move towards recovering the
missing party was to propose that a new Governor and
thirty Egyptian soldiers should be at once despatched to

CHAP, in.] Nackl stops the Way. 51

Nackl, to displace the existing hostile garrison there as an
ordinary relief. This Governor Raoulf said was an excellent
idea, only there were not thirty Egyptian soldiers faithful
to the Khedive to be had ; and moreover, as Nackl was in
the hands of rebels who still clung to Arabi, it would
have to be captured by force. It was then proposed to go
and capture it with thirty Indian soldiers ; but Raoulf said
this would not be sufficient, as the Governor of Nackl had
already sent a defiant letter to Osman Bey Rafat, when
ordered by the latter to come to Suez, saying that he took
his orders from the Governor of El Arish — in which he was
technically correct, for Nackl being a fort on the Had], or
pilgrims' route, it was under the Eosmania department at
Cairo, and not under the Governor of Suez in any way.

At this time there were at Suez, doing nothing, the
Aden Horse, a military corps, about one hundred strong
and accustomed to desert work. It was proposed that we
should go to Nackl with them to displace the Governor ;
and Colonel Griffiths, Commanding H.M. Troops at Suez,
was consulted on the matter. As the desert about Suez is
very destitute of water — very different in this respect to
the desert about Aden — it would be necessary as an
ordinary precaution to take with us sufficient water to do
the return journey to Suez, should we fail to capture
Nackl. Calculation showed that we should require two
hundred and fifty camels for this purpose, and as camels
travel but slowly, the horses would also be obliged to
travel slowly, and would thus, as horses, be useless. So
the idea of employing the Aden Horse had to be
abandoned.

While in this difficulty, M. Metzakis, who was
impressed with the idea that Palmer's party had been
carried off '.to the north-east, suggested that we should go

E 2

52 Detective Work at Suez. [CHAP. in.

to Akabah in a gun-boat, and press the Bedouin from there.
It was a difficult question to know how to break ground ;
we wanted to find some vulnerable point, where, by
pressure on the Arabs, we might get some information,
but to base our operations on Akabah might result in a
like failure as we had just experienced at Tor, such isolated
places being ill-adapted for organising active operations
from, without being certain of the co-operation of the
neighbouring Bedouin. In the necessity of obtaining
information of the missing men, the question arose whether
we should be within the law in arresting any Bedoui in
disguise who might come by stealth into Suez ; and
finding this would not meet with opposition from the
Egyptian authorities, provided that we took reasonable
precautions to avoid arresting the wrong persons, we cast
about to ascertain what Bedouin might be coming into
Suez surreptitiously. It would be out of place to describe
the secret service Colonel Warren organised in this matter,
but success very soon resulted from his operations.

The Egyptian authorities, who took no interest in the
rescue of Palmer's party, gave us no assistance : but,
nevertheless, our inquiries soon led to the discovery of a
method by which we could hope to get into the desert.
We found out that amongst the various Bedoui tribes
each one in the desert was connected by marriage with one
in Egypt ; pressure might thus be brought to bear on the
tribes in the Arabian desert through the tribes in Egypt.
Indeed, we discovered that this was the secret of the power
of the great Bedoui sheik (the Shedid) at Cairo; and that
he, in his turn, was kept by force at Cairo, that thus the
ruler in Egypt might have control over the Bedouin of the
desert. This was an important discovery, and gave us the
key which was to open the desert to us ; and though the

CHAP, in.] Breaking Ground. 53

Egyptian authorities of the Khedive would strenuously
deny that they had any power over the Bedouin, this was
merely their way of repudiating their responsibilities of
government, where nothing was to be got by a show of
activity, and we were not deceived thereby. In particular,
we ascertained that the Towara of the Sinaitic peninsula
had a connection with the Nofiat Bedouin near Zagazig ;
and if certain sheiks were arrested we could put pressure
upon Miisa Nusier and bring him to reason. It was also
ascertained that there was a Bedoui near Zagazig named
Marbruk, who had taken messages during the war from
Arabi Pasha into the desert of Arabia Petrsea by swimming
the Canal near Serapeum.

Mr. West had received no news from the desert, though
it was eleven days since we had despatched Bascheidi from
Tor to take the letter to Palmer ; but through our spies we
learnt that a few days since a son of Metter Sofia and
several Bedouin had come down to Ayun Musa to find out
what the English were doing. We also learnt an impor-
tant fact concerning Metter Sofia himself : that he had
some years ago broken off from his tribe, the Lehewat,
and was a man of no great influence ; and that the
Haiwatat, and not the Lehewat, was the important tribe of
Bedouin about Suez. We also gained important informa-
tion about the way to Nackl, and of the position of the
only water, Marbook, on that road ; making it clear that
horses could not get to Nackl without camels to carry their
water, and it would be of no advantage to employ the
former animals in any desert travelling we had to do.

It took Colonel Warren many hours ferreting out these
and such-like items of information, and he had hardly
decided that the right course would be to go to Zagazig to
secure and interview some Bedouin there, when, while out

54 Summoned to Cairo. [CHAP. in.

for an evening stroll, seeing an English locomotive being
shunted on the railway, we ascertained that it had brought
some trucks down from Ismailia for telegraph stores, and
was going back that same night, Major Sir A. Mackworth,
E.E., being in charge. About the same time we received
a telegram from Sir William Hewett, directing Colonel
Warren to proceed at once to Cairo to see Sir Garnet
Wolseley ; so we hastily got our baggage together and
arranged for our departure with Sir A. Mackworth. Burton
was left at Suez in charge, to go back to Tor if necessary
to obtain the camels for our proposed journey into the
desert, and to watch Ayun Musa ; and accompanied by
myself, and a tag-rag and bob-tail of Arabs, Colonel Warren
started for Cairo.

When all the machinery of life is out of gear it is
difficult to say what impediments may turn up to prevent
progress. Although we were ready, waiting, at 8 p.m., we
did not make a start until 1.30 a.m. We jogged and jolted
along the uneven line until sunrise, when we arrived at the
point on the Sweet-Water Canal where the breach had been
made by Arabi's men during the campaign ; here three
hundred Fellahin were busily employed repairing the banks,
so that Suez might not want for water. A little further
on we passed the Aden Horse on their way to Cairo to take
part in the review. Their horses and camels were in most
splendid condition, both men and animals being turned
out as if they were fresh from their barracks at Aden.

We arrived at Ismailia about 7.30 a.m., and after
paying a visit to Sir Owen Lanyon, the Commandant,
started again for Cairo in another train. It was here a
curious sight to watch the difference in the appearance of
the regiments dressed in karkee and those in red cloth.
As some one remarked, in karkee the privates all looked

CHAP, mo Selim Mosalli. 55

like officers, while in the dirty red all the officers looked like
privates. Probably, however, the red cloth is the most
healthy garment in a climate where the nights are chilly.

On our way past Zagazig we saw on the platform Selim
Mosalli, who had been an interpreter to the Admiral at
Suez ; and finding he was now out of employ Colonel
Warren engaged him as our interpreter. We did not leave
Zagazig till 4 p.m., and proceeded very slowly towards
Cairo, coming to a dead stop at a distance of about fifteen
miles ; and from here was pointed out to us in the distance
the railway station of Cairo in flames. The telegraph-wire
being cut we would get no information, and the wildest
rumours were afloat, our impression being that the Arabs
had risen and were looting Cairo. Our train pushed on to
a station about eight miles from Cairo, and then pulled up
for the night ; we had no food or water, and none was to
be bought ; and, to crown all, Colonel Warren had a touch
of fever, which the want of water very much aggravated.
After a tedious night spent in the train a lovely morning
broke upon us ; by day-light we pushed on to within a
mile of Cairo, which was as near as we could go, for the
up -line in front of us was blocked with carriages and
locomotives, which could neither enter the burning station
to be discharged, nor be shunted on to the down-line. We
walked into Cairo with our baggage, arriving in a famished
and miserable state.

Sir William Hewett was at the Abdeen Palace, down
with fever, and he referred us to Sir Garnet Wolseley and
Sir Edward Malet, as he himself expected to return to
India immediately after the review. Colonel Warren had
an interview with Sir Garnet, at which it was decided that
we were to continue our search under the Admiralty and
the Foreign Office, doing everything, as much as possible,

56 Arrangements ivith Government. [CHAP. m.

through, the Egyptian Government. During the day Colonel
Warren, in company with Colonel Sir Charles Wilson, who
was employed under the Foreign Office, called upon Sir E.
Malet, the Consul-General, and made four proposals for
the furtherance of the work. These proposals were as
follows : —

(1) The immediate nomination of a new Governor for

El Arish ;

(2) A new Governor for Nackl ;

(3) A new Governor at Akabah ;

(4) That Salami Shedid, the head-sheik of the

Egyptian Bedouin, should be placed at his
(Colonel Warren's) disposal.

These points arranged for, Colonel Wan-en undertook to
manage all the minor details with regard to our entry into
the desert after the missing party.

Next day, September 30th, having a great number
of small points on which to consult the Minister, Eiaz
Pasha, Colonel Warren went to see him during the
morning. An order was obtained on the Mudir of Zagazig
to deliver up to us the Bedouin we required ; another
order was also obtained directing Salami Shedid to place
his brother at our disposal, but we could not obtain the
services of the Shedid himself, as he was required at Cairo
to keep the Bedouin in order. Colonel Warren also waited
on Sir Beauchamp Seymour, who arranged that we should
have a credit of five thousand pounds, and desired that
our reports should in future be sent through Captain
Stephenson, B.N., Senior Naval Officer at Suez.

In .the afternoon Salami Shedid visited us, bringing
with him an Arab whom he introduced as his brother,
and to whom he gave instructions to obey Colonel
Warren's directions. This brother seemed to have a touch

CHAP, in.] Salami Shed id. 57

of the Fellah about him, so Colonel Warren at once taxed
Shedid with duplicity, stating his belief that the man was
not his brother. After many lies Salami admitted that
the man was not his brother, but merely a sheik of
cameleers who had just been released from prison. He
was not in the least abashed, but highly amused, at being
found out in a lie ; however, he promised faithfully to
bring his real brother over during the afternoon, a promise
he did not keep, for we saw nothing more of him, and
Colonel Warren had to draw the attention of Sir C. Wilson
to the fact that Shedid showed no inclination or desire to
assist us.

The soi-disant brother proved to be one Selami, who
had been employed by Palmer at Suez to buy camels
during the war. He had been captured by Arabi's soldiers
and severely beaten ; in fact, his feet were then a mass of
wounds and bruises, and he could scarcely walk. Selami's
story was recorded at the Consulate, and then he was
taken into our service as a temporary measure.

In the afternoon the review of the British Army of
Occupation took place, a sight which struck the Egyptians
with astonishment. The troops all looked in fine condition
and made a grand display ; but it was the Indian troops
that the Arabs most admired and feared, as they all knew
that in the hour of victory they could not be made to stay
their hand as can British soldiers.

We started about noon on October 1st for Zagazig,
"where we arrived about 3 p.m. We went at once to see
the Mudir, to deliver our letters and state our business.
On arrival at the Muderia we found the Mudir sur-
rounded by about fifty of the townspeople. On hearing
of our errand he took us on one side, and was very civil.
Colonel Warren telling him that he wished him to send

58 Zagaziy [CHAP.III.

to the village of Metradim and arrest some Bedouin with
their relatives, the Mudir at once sent a chowish and two
zap tie/is with a letter to the head man, and expressed his
belief that they would return with the men required in the
morning.

One of our first objects at Zagazig was to find
Mr. Pickard, a telegraph-engineer, who had been engaged
in cutting the telegraph-wire in the desert after Captain
Gill disappeared. We soon found him, and arranged that
he should dine with us. He gave us his account of how
he cut the telegraph-wires from Gaza, but could offer 110
definite suggestion as to what had become of Palmer's
party. Like most of the Europeans in Egypt, he knew
nothing about the Bedouin, their manners or customs,
and could give us no real assistance. He informed Colonel
Warren, however, that he could arrest a Bedoui near
Gaza, who said he had assisted in killing two " accursed "
Franks : and he said he had evidence that the Governor
of El Arish had sent Sowarki Bedouin after Palmer to
bring him in dead or alive, when on his journey from
Gaza to Suez.

Zagazig is a large town of about forty thousand in-
habitants, mostly fanatical Moslems. At the time we
visited it it boasted of but one little inn. There were
very few Europeans there, and those mostly English and
French ; the former having to do with the telegraph and
the latter with the railway department. These all met
together at the inn in the evening after dinner, and there
often resulted some lively conversation, for many of the
French had stuck to their places during the war and had
been of great service to Arabi, while most of the English
had refused to assist in the fight against their own country.
The evening we were there, there was a good deal of

CHAP, in.] Looting of our Troops. 59

drinking going on, and one man called another a traitor
for helping Arabi's troops during the war. A fight
appeared to he imminent, hut at the critical moment a big
Scotchman intervened and averted a disaster.

While at Cairo we had heard grave accounts of the
behaviour of the Indian Contingent when they reached
Zagazig, after the battle of Tel el Kebir; and rumours had
been afloat that disgraceful atrocities had been committed.
We had now an opportunity of learning what actually took
place, and it was very gratifying to find that these stories
were utterly untrue. Several houses had been occupied by
the troops, but no wholesale destruction had taken place'
and any damage done had been generally due to the care-
lessness of servants. For example, in the house of Mr.
X., where some officers had been quartered, and which was
supposed to have been the scene of the greatest disorder,
the only damage done was the melting the bottom out of
a silver teapot, which had been put on the fire to warm
some water in, and the using of a few handkerchiefs and
napkins as dish-cloths.

We went over another house, the owner of which had
just returned. There was a profusion of knick-knacks
about, which showed that no rioting or looting could have
taken place ; and the owner produced some excellent
liqueurs out of his cupboard, which we much enjoyed.

The Consul at Zagazig declared that there had been no
looting done there ; and he was very full of admiration for
the manner in which our troops had behaved on entering
the town flushed with victory. It was easy to see, how-
ever, that there was considerable reason for getting up the
rumour at Cairo respecting the looting of Zagazig : the
troops concerned were returning to India at once, and
there would thus be an opportunity for raising the question

60 The "mild" Fellah. ECHAP.IIL

of compensation. We subsequently heard that large sums
had been paid to the owners of houses for losses which, to
judge from our inquiries, never occurred. Perhaps the
strongest proof that our troops did no damage in Zagazig was
the fact that the people had evidently no experience of the
disabilities of war, but seemed to be under the impression
that the British Army was a myth, and that Arabi was all
right and enjoying himself at Cairo. There had been
many cases of rude usage on the part of the Moslems to
the native Christians, which had been severely punished
by the Mudir ; but the Christians were still very scared,
and were even grateful to us for walking about the town
in uniform, as object lessons of the existence of a British
army.

Much has been said about the temper of the Fellahin
during the war. Some people think that they were
apathetic, and not inclined either to one side or another ;
and that the chiefs alone were responsible for the Arabist
rebellion ; this, however, was not the opinion of those
who knew the country best. The people certainly were
apathetic so long as they were kept under ; but the Arabist
rebellion was essentially a national movement, deriving its
spirit from racial and fanatical prejudices. Sir Eichard
Burton recounts how the main centres of fanaticism,
" Damanhur, Kafr Zayyat and Tantah, all made them-
selves infamous during the rebellion. The ' mild ' Fellah
and his milder wife tied the limbs of murdered Franks to
dogs' tails, poured petroleum upon the poor brutes, and set
them on fire. These horrors have sunk a great gulf
between native and stranger, which will not be bridged
over during this generation." It was the general opinion
of those who knew the country best that, putting aside
isolated cases of personal friendship, and far-sighted cases

CHAP, in.] . • Return to Suez. 61

of self-interest, the lower orders, if they once got the
upper hand, would necessarily, in times of excitement,
murder every Christian they could come across.

While in the bazaar at Zagazig we obtained a seal for
use among the Arabs, with Colonel Warren's name in
Arabic engraved upon it. Before it could be handed over
by the engraver it was necessary to insert and sign a
certificate, in a book kept for the purpose, that Warren

•

Bey was the owner's real name, and this certificate was
duly attested by the interpreter. The object of this pre-
caution was that, in case the seal should be lost, there
might be a record of it, so that it might be cried down.
It was very interesting to find such care taken about these
signet rings, which have been in use since the earliest
times ; and in the East, where writing is in the hands of
the scribes, they are of the greatest use.

Early next morning, after our arrival at Zagazig, we
went to the Muderia, and ascertained that the men we had
demanded, three sheiks and four Bedouin, had all been
brought in. Our train of followers was now swelling fast ;
and with the original Arabs, Selami, his four wives and
children, and the Zagazig Bedouin with their guard, a
railway truck was filled. We left Zagazig at 3 p.m.,
arriving in the evening at Ismailia, where we had to stop
the night. On our way past Tel el Kebir we heard that
the Bedouin were busy at work exhuming and stripping
the bodies of the dead, both British and Egyptian. A
Bedoui will strip his own dead father if he has a chance.

We had suffered torment from the sand-flies and heat
at Zagazig, and at Ismailia we endured tortures from the
swarms of bugs. Here the troops were evacuating with
all speed, and the once busy " base " had already a deserted
appearance. We arrived at Suez in the evening of

62 Spies at Ayun Musa. [CHAP. m.

October 3rd, and found Burton down with a touch of
fever at the hotel. He had some interesting information to
give of the progress of affairs since our departure for Cairo.

On September 29th, the messenger sent to Nackl by
Raoulf Pasha had returned, reporting that when he had
arrived within ten hours' journey of Nackl he had been
taken prisoner by fifty to sixty men of the Haiwatat and
Terebin tribes. After being kept prisoner three days at
Jebel Hassan, near Wadi Sadr, he was released, and
returned direct to Suez. He gave information that there
were four Bedouin, of the tribes that captured Palmer's
party, now acting as spies at Ayun Musa ; and said that
he had heard these men quarrelling, and in anger one had
threatened to shoot another " as he had the Englishmen."
Lieutenant Burton, knowing Colonel Warren's anxiety to
capture some of the inculpated Bedouin, consulted with
the Consul, and with his concurrence went to Raoulf
Pasha and suggested several methods of securing these
men ; all of which methods the Pasha judged im-
practicable. Burton then went to Colonel Griffiths,
Commandant of Suez, and obtained from him the assistance
of an English officer and twelve Indian sowars. He made
all his arrangements for surrounding Ayun Musa and
capturing the men there, but at the last moment the
movements were countermanded.

A messenger from Tor had arrived on October 1st,
bringing a letter from Musa Nusier. in which he gave his
submission to the Khedive. He had evidently sent some-
where for corroboration of the information we had given
him, and had then proceeded to Tor with the twelve camels
requisitioned by us, arriving four days after the appointed
time. A letter was now despatched to Musa Nusier,
desiring him to bring his camels at once to Suez.

CHAP, in.] Nocturnal Raid. 63

During our absence at Cairo, Quartermaster-Sergeant
Kennedy, R.E., had embarked for England ; for, the war being
now over, the object for which his services had been procured
had ceased to be. He had proved himself most useful in
charge of stores, and in assisting generally while at Tor.

Sard, the brother of the Salami Shedid, arrived at Suez
during the night of October 4th, with an uncle of his,
Hadj Mohammed. Sard was a morose, incapable young
man, but, owing to his near relationship to Salami, he took
precedence of Hadj Mohammed, a much abler person, of
considerable presence and some authority. Soon after our
return to Suez Colonel Warren brought onr Bedouin before
Baoulf Pasha. His Excellency could offer no suggestion
as to the next move, but showed his anxiety to assist by
roundly rating our retinue, and calling them all " pigs."
This did not seem to get us any more forward, and
Colonel Warren proposed that Shedid's kin should show
their mettle at once, by going out to Ayun Musa and
catching the four spies that were there. It was particularly
important to capture a Bedoui named Ali Shwair, who had
been hearfed boasting that he had killed an Englishman, and
would kill anyone else who endeavoured to capture him.
So it was arranged that our Bedouin should go by boat to
Ayun Musa that night, to make the necessary raid.

During the day we arrested in the town one of M. Costa's
gardeners from Ayun Musa; his evidence relative to what took
place there during the war proved afterwards very useful.

The efforts of our Bedouin at Ayun Musa during the
night were only partially successful ; they allowed Ali
Shwair and two Haiwatat to escape, but they brought in
nine prisoners, two of whom were gardeners employed
there. One of the prisoners, Selami, proved to be a camel-
driver who had started with Palmer, and from him we

64 Luportaii I ('(/iif/irc. [CHAP. m.

obtained the first direct account of what had happened
upon Palmer's ill-fated expedition. Cross-examination
elicited a number of important details connected with the
composition of Palmer's party ; and Selami informed us
that Palmer had separated himself from his bag-gage on
the second day after leaving Suez, going on ahead with
his guide, companions, and the interpreter. On the
morning of the following day, August 12th, the baggage
party was attacked by a large party of men, the camel-
drivers making little resistance. Selami professed to know
nothing of what had occurred to Palmer and his com-
panions subsequent to their departure, but he was able to
give us the name of two of the principal Bedouin who had
attacked and looted Palmer's baggage, these being Salem
Sheyk and Salem Subheh, both of the Haiwatat tribe.
He also stated that there were men of the Lehewat,
Dubur, and Terebin tribes amongst the marauders.
Selami finally cleared up all uncertainty concerning
the position of Wadi Sadr, which had now clearly
nothing to do with Wadi Sidri ; but he left us still in
doubt as to the fate of Palmer and his companions, thus
it was all important not to relax our endeavours to open
up communication with the desert tribes.

It being desirable to prevent the missing men being
carried off into the interior of Arabia, where it might be
impossible to rescue them, it was decided to visit Akabah
at once, to inform the Governor and people there of the
collapse of Arabi, and to take measures to close that way
of escape from our search parties. This done, Colonel
Warren decided to enter the desert from Suez, to follow up
the steps of the missing party, and thoroughly to pacific-ate
the desert. The desert, however, was still, to all intents
and purposes, closed ; and as the authorities were very

CHAP, in.] Requisitioning Bedouin. 65

cautious as to permitting us to enter the desert at all, and
as it was manifestly undesirable to risk another such
disaster as had befallen Palmer and his companions,
Colonel Warren decided to form the expedition of a
powerful body of Egyptian Bedouin, and, making them
responsible for finding the persons in the attack, send
them into the desert to pursue their investigations alone.
It is doubtful, however, whether he ever meant this
expedition to go without him, though it was very fortunate
that he took up that line in his communication with the
sheiks ; for otherwise, closely connected as they were with
the Bedouin of the desert, all trace of the party might
have been removed before we arrived at the spot where
the murder was committed.

On October Oth, Colonel Warren again took the sheiks
he had brought from Cairo and Zagazig before the Governor
of Suez, and in his presence asked them how they would
propose to arrange for an expedition into the desert to
investigate into the murder of the Englishmen, and arrest
the guilty parties. They said they would require two
hundred Bedouin for such an expedition ; one hundred and
fifty for their own protection, and fifty besides for ours.
They were informed that they need not trouble themselves
on our account, but were to provide simply for their own
purposes. Thereupon Raoulf Pasha despatched a telegram
to Riaz Pasha, requesting him to send twenty Bedouin
from each of certain tribes in the Kalyub and Dukolia
districts, amounting in all to one hundred and sixty, and
urging that they should be at Suez before the elapse of
eight or nine days at the latest.

Next morning there was no water in the Sweet-Water
Canal, which supplies Suez from the Nile by way of
Ismailia; and it was probable that in a day or two the

F

G6 Inspection of Canal.

town would be without water, excepting that stored in the
docks. As this state of things might endanger the health
of the place, and interfere with our operations, Colonel
Warren, before leaving for Akabah, decided to find out the
reason for the canal being empty, it having been ascertained
that water was passing freely along the canal by Ismailia.
So offering his services to make an inspection of the canal,
he started off with an escort of Native cavalry one morning to
ride up the bank of the Sweet-Water Canal. The country
about the canal was in the hands of the Bedouin, who were
still in a turbulent condition, and it was thought that
they might have cut the bank of the canal some miles
from Suez. After proceeding some fifteen miles it was
found that the water was coming down slowly, the banks
being in good order ; but owing to the water having been
cut off for so long a period it was absorbed very quickly as
it advanced, and would require probably three or four days
more to reach Suez. The bottom of the canal was covered
with a thick growth of grass and reeds, and the slope of
the canal from Ismailia being only one in forty thousand,
the water passes very slowly along it.

Colonel Warren returned to Suez the same day, ready
to start in H.M.S. Eclipse for Akabah the same evening :
the Admiral, however, had meanwhile postponed our
departure until the following day, so as to give time for
preparation. The time allowed to us for the expedition
to Akabah was limited to five days, in order that the
Eclipse might get back to sail after the East Indian
Squadron, which was to start at once for the Indian Ocean.
We therefore bade a regretful farewell to Admiral Sir
William Hewett, who had throughout our proceedings
taken the greatest interest in every detail, and given us
every assistance in his power.

CHAPTEE IV.

DEPARTURE FOR AKABAH IN H.M.S. " ECLIPSE." LANDING AT
DHAHAB. ARRIVAL AT AKABAH. ATTEMPT TO LAND. CRITICAL
POSITION or LANDING-PARTY. ENFORCED HOSPITALITY. CON-
FERENCE WITH THE GOVERNOR AND MOHAMMED GAD. THE
BANQUET. THE LETTER FROM THE GOVERNOR OF NACKL.
TIDINGS OF PALMER'S MURDER. MOHAMMED GAD, SHEIK OF
THE ALAWIN. RETURN TO SUEZ.

SUNDAY seems always to have been our day for action
in Egypt. At dawn on the morning of October 8th, we
were busy writing off letters for home and for Cairo ; and
at 6 a.m. were waiting near the dusty railway for the
trolly which had been ordered to carry us and our luggage
down to the docks. The trolly did not arrive, however,
and seeing a long freight-train full of hay and stores being
shunted near us, we got all our baggage and Bedouin on to
it ; and, after considerable uncertainty as to where we
should be carried, we triumphantly entered the docks on
top of the hay at about 8.30 a.m. Our passage over the
three miles down to the docks was a very amusing one ;
the train moved slowly, and the Arabs thronged the line
on either side, jumping on to the trucks wherever they
could get a footing, and then down again when they had
gone as far as they required ; others were hanging on, or
running by the side, chaffing us at our snug seat on the
hay, squeezing on to the steps and buffers, and climbing

F 2

68 Embark on H.M.S. "Eclipse" [OHAP.IV.

into the trucks. Some attempted to join us aloft on the
hay, but this was not to be allowed, and they were speedily
repulsed, and retired discomfited to the sides of the
truck.

Arrived at the docks, we unloaded the trucks of our
baggage and walked off with our possessions ; there
seemed to be no one in charge of the stores and merchan-
dise on the train, and had we walked off with anything
not our own it would have been all one to the officials ;
they seemed quite indifferent as to the care of the property
they carried. It was always a mystery to me how things
ever did reach their destination in the East.

A steam-launch was waiting for us which soon trans-
ferred our motley assembly, and curious assortment of
luggage and edibles, to H.M.S. Eclipse. The sailors were
highly amused at the appearance of our company, and
especially at the strange food they had brought to eat ; for
as there would be difficulty in feeding the Bedouin on
ship's rations, they had been directed to cater for them-
selves, and accordingly brought with them quantities of
vegetables and water-melons, Bedoui bread, pots of rancid
butter, &c., with a variety of queer pots and pans for
cooking, which quite took the fancy of the cooks of the
cuddy. Our party consisted of Colonel Warren, myself,
Mosalli, Ossad, Hadj Mohammed Shedid, three minor
sheiks of the Nofiat tribe, and Hassan Effendi, the newly
appointed Governor of Nackl. It was difficult to know
how to arrange for the accommodation of so strange an
assembly on board a man-of-war ; but Captain Garforth
was equal to the occasion, and soon rigged up awnings
between the guns on deck, where all the Moslems, including
the stately Governor of Nackl, fraternised ; the sailors
making pets of the more lively of them as though they

CHAP, iv.] Naval Hospitality, 69

had been a superior race of monkeys. We were heartily
relieved to find that Hassan Effendi, a Captain of
Egyptian Artillery, could so happily chum with the
Bedouin, as it was difficult to know how else to locate
him.

We quickly weighed anchor and passed out of the
harbour, saluting the flag- ship as we went. Outside in the
anchorage was a magnificent spectacle. The white ships
of the East Indian Squadron were then getting ready to
leave the Bed Sea for Indian waters ; and in addition was a
large fleet of transports, also painted white, waiting
to take the Indian Contingent home again. All the
sailors rejoiced at their near departure, and the chance
it would bring of once more landing on terra frma ; for a
large number of them had not set foot on land, except on
duty, for several months. Our voyage down the Gulf of
Suez was decidedly warm ; but the hospitality of the ship's
officers knew no bounds, and, some supported by " cock-
tails," others by water-melons, and others relying solely
on the all-invigorating cigarette, we merrily passed the
time away.

Tor was sighted during the first night out, and early
next morning we successfully eluded the sunken reefs and
rocks near the toe of the peninsula, steaming into the Gulf
of Akabah without accident. We proceeded, however,
with great caution, with men constantly in the chains, for
no English steamer had ever been in these waters before,
and the only man-of-war that had ever been there was
a surveying ship, nigh forty years before. A Khedivial
steamer had been here a few years before, but had not
added anything to the knowledge of the sea.

At about 3 p.m. we sighted a ring of palm-trees on the
barren coast of the peninsula, which we knew to be Dhahab,

70 Dhahab.

[CHAP. IV.

where was supposed to be a good anchorage and a fishing
village. Here we anchored for the night, as it was not
safe to feel our way onwards in the dark. On a low,
sandy beach, behind which rose the mountains of the
peninsula, lay the village of Dhahab, consisting of a few
mud huts only capable of holding about a dozen families.
There was little life visible, and what there was was
struggling with all haste inland up the mountain side ;
while some rebellious camels, which had refused to move
on, were straying about the plain. As the people might
still believe themselves to be at war, and might, according
to their custom, be lying in ambush, we proceeded with
some caution to land, escorted by six blue -jackets and
accompanied by our Bedouin. We had some amusement
in catching a camel ; and sent Marbruk, one of the
Bedouin we had brought from Zagazig, up the rising
ground inland to see if there were any people about. The
heat was intense, and we lay under bushes waiting for
Marbruk's return, and watching the beautiful effects of
the sun setting behind the granite mountains. Marbruk
stayed away some hours, and when he returned spun us a
long yarn as to his adventures. He had caught up two
men who were carrying dates away, who had told him
that the tribe of M'said had struck their encampment,
situated in the valley on the other side of the hills, on
hearing of the approach of our ship, and had driven their
flocks and herds inland. He had accompanied the men to
a beautiful wadi, where there was a palm-grove, a stream,
and green pastures. There were some women there with
some sheep, but they would not come down to sell them,
so Marbruk had to return alone. He declared that they
knew where Palmer was concealed, but would not say.
They had heard that Musa Nusier and his tribe were

CHAP, iv.] We sight Akabah. 71

flying in the direction of Syria. In fact, it was a
genuine case of thought-reading ; Marbruk told us
exactly what he thought we knew, or wanted to know,
and no more.

We left Dhahab at 6 a.m. on the 10th, and proceeded
up the gulf, watching with interest the barren coasts on
either hand. We sighted Akabah about noon, up to which
time we had not seen a sign of humanity on either shore.
Near Akabah the gulf ends, and gives place to Wadi
Arabah, but of this there was yet no sign ; the mountains,
converging slightly from their path on either side of the
gulf, continue their course to the north without inter-
mission, and between them lie the sands of the Arabah,

THE AKABAH — LOOKING NORTH FBOM AKABAH.

dotted with scrub and marked along the shore -line by a
fringe of bushes and palm-trees. As we neared the
head of the gulf about 1 p.m. we could see the palm-
groves of Akabah on the eastern shore, a happy relief to
the eye after the continuous red mountains, and blue sky
and sea. We could see the green flag of Arabi waving
above the castle-walls ; but as we approched nearer and
passed the fort it was quietly hauled down, and no flag
was to be seen. The officials were evidently not anxious
to be too defiant, at the same time they did not hoist the
Egyptian (Turkish) flag. We could see through our

72 Castle of AkabaJi. [CHAP. iv.

glasses that a general exodus of all the flocks was taking
place, and many people were hurrying away up the moun-
tain side, while armed men were coming in and assembling
near the castle.

The castle of Akabah is a strongly built caravansarai
in the form of a fort. It is about 100 feet square and has
towers and battlements and a field-gun or two, one of
which was mounted on a commanding tower. It is of the
class of buildings constructed in the 16th century by
Suleiman the Magnificent, for the protection of pilgrims on
the Hadj route, and in Europe would be considered a fine
structure. It has numerous and rather dilapidated chambers
and stables for the accommodation of the pilgrims ; these
chambers all open into the court-yard, there being but one
entrance to the fort. Akabah is the third station of the
Hadj route after leaving Cairo, the first being a point on
the Sweet- Water Canal near Suez, and the second the fort
of Nackl. These stations are generally distant from one
another three days camel- journey, or about 100 miles, that
being the greatest distance a loaded camel can go with-
out drinking. Even to reach these stations the camel's
endurance is often tried to the utmost ; and that many
succumb to the privations is attested by the mute witness
of their bones which lie bleaching on the desert track. No
desert Bedouin are admitted into these forts, which are
defended by Egyptian or Turkish Governors and Mo-
garabite Irregulars — sturdy Moslems from the Tunisian
provinces and Morocco, who do not fear the Bedouin of
Arabia.

The town lies principally to the north of the fort, and
is a series of mud-built houses of the usual type, accom-
modating about 1000 persons. In front of these houses,
fringing the sea-coast, are gardens of date-palms, surrounded

CHAP, iv.] Tie Ancient Elaili. 73

by stone walls about six feet in height on the outside, and
with thorny faggots built into a hard mud coping. These
walls are broken up into sections by transverse walls, and
the ground being filled up somewhat on the inside, the
whole present a formidable series of stockades about
twenty yards from the water-line, and extending up the
coast for nearly a mile, as far as the head of the gulf.
Behind these are again other walls on a higher level, until
the town is reached ; and beyond this again are hills of
sand to the east, rising towards the mountain chain which
borders the gulf on the eastern side.

In front of the fort was anchored a solitary dhow, by
which the garrison traded with Koseir, on the western
shore of the Bed Sea, and with Suez. Sailing communica-
tion with Suez is almost impracticable for a large portion
of the year, for a dhow which may come down the Gulf of
Suez in a few hours, will take weeks to get back again up
to Akabah, and vice versa. It was interesting to see this
dhow, the sole representative of the fleets of Ezion-geber
which traded with Ophir. Where the site of Ezion-geber
may be is still somewhat uncertain, but it cannot be far
from the head of the gulf ; and there is a general consensus
of opinion that the ancient town of Elath is marked by
Akabah. Elath is mentioned by Greek and Eoman
writers up to the seventh century, when it was taken by
the Moslems. It was taken and retaken by the Christians
during the Crusades, and, after that, was not visited by
Europeans until as late as 1822, when Euppell succeeded
in examining the site. Since then there have been many
visitors, amongst the last of whom were Professor Hull
and Colonel Kitchener, E.E., the present Sirdar of the
Egyptian Army.

As we steamed past the town we saw the inhabitants

74 Excitement of the Akabese. [CHAP. iv.

hurrying to and fro in great excitement. As we afterwards
discovered, they were in momentary expectation of an
attack, heing quite unaware that Arabi had fallen and
that peace had been proclaimed. They had heard, on the
other hand, numerous Arab fabrications, which declared
that our fleet had been captured and sunk, that we had
been worsted in every encounter, that our army was
destroyed and our soldiers in irons ; in consequence of
which, and owing to their intense ignorance, they were
entirely under the impression that they were fully a match
for us, that their old 12 -pounder was equal to all our
guns, and that under no circumstances would we be able to
reduce their fort to submission if we attacked it. All
they were afraid of was that their houses and their goods
might be destroyed, and these latter they commenced
placing in security. They were Arabists to a man, and
had received orders to be prepared for an attack from a
ship of war, to oppose any landing to the utmost, and to
take all prisoners they could, but not to fire until they
were fired upon. It will be seen by their subsequent
behaviour that they rigidly attempted to carry out their
instructions. As we passed the castle numerous parties of
armed men were to be seen running along the shore and
gardens following us, and stopping opposite to us when
the Eclipse anchored, about three-quarters of a mile
above the fort. They were, for the most part, concealed
from us on deck, but could be plainly seen from the
" tops."

It was now evident that we must be prepared for a
hostile reception, for which we were somewhat curiously
situated ; for we were at peace with them, and had a
strong additional incentive to risk much rather than
engage in an encounter, for Professor Palmer and his

CHAP, iv.] Landing -party. 75

party might be in their hands — might even be prisoners
in the castle ; they on the other hand were, as far as they
knew, still at war with us, and any information we might
give them as to the declaration of peace would only be
looked upon as a ruse. Colonel Warren hoped to bring
them to reason without bloodshed by gradually persuading
them of the facts regarding the war, but it would evidently
be a delicate affair, and Captain Grarforth got all ready to
help us in case of need.

We put off to the shore in two cutters. In the first
were Colonel Warren, Lieutenant Henderson, B.N., myself,
Mosalli, our Bedouin, the new Governor of Nackl, and
twelve armed blue-jackets. In the second cutter were
twenty armed marines. As we rowed to the shore the
natives showed so hostile an attitude, that it was evidently
useless to attempt to land immediately under our guns, as
we would wish to have done ; so we rowed parallel to the
shore towards the fort in hopes of an opportunity arising
to open up negotiations. The natives followed us up behind
the walls, always presenting a front when we paused, to
oppose a landing, and swarming behind the walls and trees,
and whatever cover was available.

Just in front of the fort was a gap in the gardens,
leaving a vacant space of fore-shore, each side of which
the walls ran back, forming flanks from which a cross-fire
could be poured on the ground in front. Just before we
arrived opposite this place we put in straight for the shore,
but as we came up to beach our boat, we saw hundreds
of muskets levelled at us over the walls, and it was evident
that to persist in landing would be to risk the lives of
every man in the boats. Colonel Warren therefore directed
the cutter to put back, and when we were about fifty yards
from the shore we commenced a parley with the natives,

76 Hostility of Arabs. [CHAP. iv.

e/ */

calling for the Governor, whom we saw on the beach, and
hoisting a white flag. In the meantime, seeing the very
hostile attitude of the Arabs, and wishing to avoid being
caught in a trap if we again attempted to beach our boat,
Colonel Warren desired Lieutenant Henderson to position
the second cutter, with the marines, behind the large dhow,
which was anchored in front of the fort at about eighty
yards from the shore ; so that they might be able to open
fire upon the shore from under cover, should we be fired
upon while landing.

The Governor of Akabah seeing a comrade, the new
Governor of Nackl, with us in Egyptian uniform, and our
company of Bedouin, who were shouting themselves hoarse,
began to think we might be relating facts, and came down
to the water's edge, filled with curiosity to know who our
Moslem party were, and how they came on our side. We
told him to drive back the Arabs who crowded behind
him ; but this he did not succeed in doing, though he raved
at them, pulled their hair, and threw large stones at them.
They only dodged his missiles, however, swore at him in
return, and came back full of determination to protect their
hearths and homes.

In the midst of the excitement a plucky Mogarabite
zaptieh swam off to our boat, while at the same time the
Governor put off in a small skiff to get nearer to us, in
order to satisfy his curiosity. The zaptieh was soon
convinced that our story was not all sham, and shouted
out his conversion to the shore. The Governor getting
the more curious, we conversed rapidly with him until our
boats drifted together, and before he knew what he was
about he was locked with us, and our first object was
gained ; for we felt it was unlikely that the Arabs would
open fire upon us whilst their Governor was with us and

CHAP, iv.] We Effect a Landing. 77

in our power. At first there was a cry that we were
taking the Governor prisoner, and more excitement; but
this calmed down, as he was to be seen from the shore
hugging and kissing the Moslems in our boat. He was
meanwhile taking in the news, and when he realised the
truth he expressed his great delight at Arabi's capture,
suddenly became a staunch Khedivist, and shouted to the
people that we must be allowed to land. We now
approached the beach again, and a few of the people on
the shore hoisted white pieces of rag, and came down
towards us into the water ; but the majority kept behind
the walls, in defiance of our landing. Colonel Warren,
however, now saw his opportunity, for the natives on the
beach near us gave us increased security against being
fired upon ; so we rapidly beached our boat, keeping on
one side of the dhow, so that the marines might have full
scope for their fire should occasion require it. The Arabs
refused to allow more than three white men to land, so
Colonel Warren, Lieutenant Henderson, and myself went
ashore upon the shoulders of our swarthy antagonists,
and at once mixed with the crowd, together with our
interpreter and our Bedouin.

The excitement of the people now reached its zenith ;
some wanted to shoot us on the spot, while others
shouted to make prisoners of us and carry us off to the
castle. The only man who seemed to have any authority
or to possess any common-sense, was a Bedoui sheik who
suddenly appeared on the scene. He stated that he was
Mohammed Gad of the Alawin, and at once took a
prominent part in the proceedings, allaying the excitement
by drawing his sword and belabouring all he met with the
flat of it. We exerted ourselves to spread the news of
the peace ; but the majority of the people would not

78 Warren Demands Coffee. [CHAP. iv.

believe it, and kept behind the walls with their muskets
levelled on us. The Governor and his officials exercised
their ingenuity in devising reasons why we should go up
to the fort ; but we were quite as loth to be made
prisoners as they, at this stage, were anxious to get us
into their power, and Colonel Warren politely and flatly
declined the invitation. Matters were at a deadlock, when
Colonel Warren told the Governor to send for coffee at
once, being anxious that the ceremony of drinking coffee
and eating salt might be performed as soon as practicable,
as that would tend to subdue the feeling against us.

We were just thinking that we had succeeded in
reducing the crowd to somewhat of a calm, when the Master-
Gunner of the fort, a sturdy old soldier, rushed down the
beach in a most excited state, and declared that we should
not stir until he had proof of the peace we talked of.
Colonel Warren produced the Khedive's bosta (proclaiming
the peace) and a letter from the Governor of Suez to the
Governor of Akabah ; also some Arabic newspapers con-
taining announcements of Arabi's collapse. They were
handed over to the Governor, who read them out loud ;
still the majority refused to believe the news, insisting that
the papers were fabricated for the occasion. It was of no
avail to jeer at the idea of newspapers being printed off for
the sake of Akabah. Akabah was to them the metropolis
of the world, and its importance was not to be made light
of. Colonel Warren still clamoured for coffee, which the
Governor objected to bring down to the beach ; but at last
he gave way, though with a bad grace, getting up some-
what of an altercation in doing so, so that our Bedouin,
who were in a very tremulous state, got very frightened.
One of them, in his anxiety, fortunately supplied a
diversion by suddenly plumping down on all fours to pray

CHAP. iv.] The Khedives Proclamation. 79

for the Moslem paraphrase of the leading rule in whist is
" when you are in doubt go through the prayer formulae."
Faraj forgot that he had journeyed somewhat to the east
since leaving his home, and considerably shocked the
Akabese by his ignorance of the position of his Kibleh,
turning himself nearly away from the Kaaba. The
attention of all was at once turned to his mistake, and
a little timely chaff by Colonel Warren raised a laugh, and
went far to allay the excitement.

The Khedive's proclamation was now read aloud by
our interpreter, and when it was ended the Governor was
ordered to send the people away, which he and his
zaptiehs essayed to do, throwing stones at them and
striking them with the flats of their swords. The people
submitted to this with their wonted good humour ; but it
effected little, for they always returned to their places
directly the attacks upon them were relinquished. We
now moved under the shade of some palm-trees, close to
the walls, desiring to get something innocuous behind us ;
but on looking over the wall we found the interiors still
lined with armed men, crouching behind them. After a
good deal of talking we succeeded in getting these away,
and also a clear line down to our boat, but this we could
only effect by a compromise by sending the second cutter
with the marines back to the ship.

Before coffee was brought down the Governor made a
final attempt to persuade us to go up to the fort ; but
Colonel Warren judged that matters had not sufficiently
ripened for us to do this with impunity. Cushions were
brought down, and we all endeavoured to be as amiable
and pleasant to each other as possible. Colonel Warren
expressed the desire to buy some sheep, and offered
passages to Suez to anyone who wished to go. Sheep were

80 Bargaining for Sheep. [CHAP. iv.

brought — miserable animals, but it was politic to go through,
all the forms of a bargain ; so we haggled away, and the
time passed by, eventually the animals being purchased for
sixteen shillings apiece. Of course, this was merely a
matter of diplomacy for there was plenty of food on board,
and Captain Grarforth did not want any more live stock ;
but, in Colonel Warren's opinion, nothing could so impress
upon the people the fact of peace being restored as such
a purchase after due and ceremonious bargaining.

Towards sunset the weaker sex suddenly raised a
diversion against us ; the women began to wail and lament,
declaring that if we were allowed to remain on shore they
would all be murdered, and they rushed about exciting
their spouses to attack us. We therefore made rapid
preparations for departure before darkness should come on,
leaving our Bedouin on shore for the night to talk over
matters with the natives, and get all the information they
could. Especially were they to discover whether Professor
Palmer was a prisoner in the fort, as we half suspected he
was ; or whether he had been carried off, and in what
direction. Before leaving we accepted an invitation from
the Governor to -dine in the fort with him next day ; then
putting off, we arrived on board the Eclipse at nightfall.

At 6.30 a.m. next morning we left for the shore, in the
same order as yesterday, except that the second cutter
with the marines kept well out from the landing-place.
We hoped that the excitement would have now pretty well
subsided ; but we found that the mob of armed men still
followed us, lining the walls and concentrating their
muskets upon us when we came in to the landing-place.
This was awkward, as in case one had gone off by accident
an encounter might have been precipitated, so we shouted
our expostulations to the Governor. He replied that he

CHAP, iv.] Henewed Disturbance. 81

really could not control the people, but that if we sent
away the second cutter the excitement might subside.
Colonel Warren decided to risk the consequences for the
sake of getting news of Palmer, and sent the marines back
to the ship. We then beached our boat and landed • but
there was still great excitement, and the natives, still
persisting in covering us with their muskets, refused to go
away. The Governor was on the shore to receive us, so
Colonel Warren insisted that he could not leave the beach
until their muskets were taken off us : eventually we
compromised matters again by sending our cutter some
distance from the shore, while we landed, in addition to
those of yesterday, two ships officers and two armed
blue-jackets, so that we were seven Europeans in all.

We now walked up to the fort, Mohammed Gad and
the Governor doing their best to keep the crowd at a safe
distance from us ; but the people soon hemmed us in on
all sides and tried to hustle us, until, when we got within
the great archway of the fort, the massive iron -cased gates
were closed and bolted, and the excited Arabs left outside
to beat at the gates and shout themselves hoarse. It was
not an agreeable position to be in, locked up in a fort
among a hostile soldiery, with an excited swarm of
barbarians without ; but we made the best of things, and
settled ourselves on the cushions which had been spread in
the gateway, waiting till coffee should be served. But
speech was impossible, for the disturbances outside
increased, and the Governor, Mohammed Gad, and the
zaptiehs were continually running outside beating the people
off with their sticks. Outside we could hear the women
wailing and hounding the men on, and at last Colonel
Wan-en considered it time to do a little shouting himself.
So he commenced to harangue the Governor in a loud

G

82 The Banquet. [CHAP. iv.

voice, pointing out that if we met with any evil not one
stone would be left upon another in the castle or houses ;
that though the people might not suffer, the Governor and
his zaptiehs could not possibly ever be employed again ;
that they would be outcasts among the Bedouin, who
hated them ; that Mohammed Gad would cease to be
sheik over his tribe, and that his tribe would lose the
care and lucrative custody of the Hadj pilgrims. These
threats were direct home-thrusts to all those in the castle j
and they made a final dash outside, beat the excited crowd
indiscriminately all round, locked the gates of the fort, and
begged us to come into an inner room in the court out of
the noise, where we could talk. We found there were
some very good chambers built round the court-yard ; and
into one of these we were conducted. A large piece of
matting was brought in and laid on the floor ; and on this
we sat in a circle, with the Governor, Hassan Effendi,
Mohammed Shedid, and Mohammed Gad. A large dish,
about three feet in diameter, was now deposited in the
centre of the matting, piled up with talaf (rice boiled
in gieli) with pieces of meat interspersed. Before com-
mencing our repast a ewer and basin were brought to us for
washing our hands ; and now each one of us, towel over
knees, approached within arm's length and dipped our
hands into the dish. Our host tore up the meat for us
with his fingers, and put tit-bits in front of each. The
proper method of feeding is for each to mould the rice into
a cake with the hand, and then jerk it into the open
mouth ; but most of us were novices, and could only eat in
a very slovenly fashion. The meat on these occasions is
always very nicely cooked, and appetising ; it is boiled and
spiced, and probably cooked over a very slow fire. We
hoped that while we were eating some conversation would

CHAP, iv.] Brow-beating the Governor. 83

ensue ; for our Bedouin had ascertained absolutely nothing
during the night, and we had not advanced one step
towards learning anything of the missing party. Hassan
Effendi had, however, ascertained during the previous night
that the Governor was in possession of an important letter,
though whether he could he induced to produce it was
uncertain. There was still the possibility that Professor
Palmer's party might be prisoners in the castle where
we were ; nay, might be even within hearing of our words,
and we kept keenly on the watch to see if there were any
signs of our countrymen's presence.

When we had eaten sufficiently we gave place to others,
and while they were feeding, Colonel Warren turned on our
host and demanded the reason why he had refused to give
him any information about Professor Palmer's party ;
insisting that it was quite certain that he knew all about
them, and telling him that he would suffer severely if he
did not assist us. Colonel Warren had a theory that the
best time for brow-beating an Arab host is just after he has
fed you ; when he thinks you ought to be satisfied with
what you have eaten, and when he is himself a little gorged
and unable to resist your importunities. On this occasion
the onslaught was successful ; our host was taken aback by
the sudden attack upon him, and began to assert his readi-
ness to assist in anything in accordance with the orders of
the Governor of Suez. He was at last induced to admit
that he had received a letter from Nackl, whereupon Colonel
Warren insisted that this was only a further proof that he
was an accessory to the imprisonment of Professor Palmer :
eventually, to prove his innocence, he produced, with much
mystery, the letter written to him by the Governor of
Nackl — a letter which proved to be of the greatest import-
ance, though, alas ! it completely destroyed our hopes that

G 2

84 Startling Evidence. [CHAP. iv.

we should ever see our missing countrymen alive. This
letter contained most interesting details concerning the
party we were in search of, and was the more to he valued
as it was clearly written without any conception that it
would ever fall into the hands of the English. At first a
suspicion arose that it might have been fabricated in the
night ; but everything pointed to its genuine character, and
moreover it had on it the Governor of Nackl's seal and the
official number.

It must be conceded that it is a very temperate letter,
if we take the people's view that they were right to defend
their own against the Christians who were attacking them.
The people of Akabah were told they were not to fire first,
and that they were not to kill if they could help it, but
only to take prisoners. But in any case they were to fight
in defending their own. A more reasonable and proper
instruction could not have been given, had the Governor of
Nackl been a European officer instead of a pronounced
Arabist. Again, this letter, though it implicated the
Shedids, as accessories after the act, shows them in a very
favourable light as not wishing to kill. Evidently they
had said to the Bedouin " You were wrong to kill the
party, you should have sent them as prisoners to us at
Cairo." All this was brought to a focus afterwards ; at
present, the one startling piece of news confronted us.
The missing men were dead ! Yet though there seemed
little ground for further hope, there was still a chance
that the Governor of Nackl might be mistaken, that
he had been misinformed, and that they might still be
alive ; and the palpably exaggerated tone of the letter,
which turned Captain Foote's landing at Tor into the
disembarkation of 500 soldiers, gave colour to the hope
that it was so. Accordingly, Colonel Warren, though

CHAP. TV.] Letter from Nackl. 85

feeling the almost certainty of their deaths, determined
that the off-chance of their survival must not be neglected,
and he must still act exactly as though they were still alive.
For might not some of them have escaped, even if others
were killed ? Might they not have saved Sheik Abdullah
(Palmer) as an old friend, while sacrificing the rest ?

The following is the translation of the letter written
on 27th of Showal (September 9th), and delivered at
Akabah a few days afterwards.

We let you know that on the llth day of Showal we appointed a
Bedoui to carry the mail. He soon reached Ismailia, where he learnt that
the English Christians had attacked the Bedouin who were near Ismailia,
when they were much in need of water, the Sweet- Water Canal being- blocked
so that no water could go from Ismailia to Suez. Then at night the English
attacked the Bedouin, who ran away and informed Arabi Pasha about it.
So he came from Kafr Dowar with many troops, and attacked the enemy.
He captured all their guns and arms, made many prisoners, and destroyed
Ismailia. The Christians of that place and about Suez are much excited
and afraid. This is all we have learnt from the two soldiers who were
ordered to go through and could not. So they came back on the night of
the 25th Showal.

But as regards the three Christians who were going to the fort of Nackl,
accompanied by Metter Sofia, one of the Sofia tribe, they were killed by
the sou of Abu Mershed, one of the sheiks of the tribes that live at Wadi
Sadr, and they never arrived here.

We received news from the Sheik of Tor that a man-of-war came down
to Tor with 500 soldiers, and he could not come to Nackl as the Christians
now are found in a very bad state.

My only object in writing to you is to desire you to be careful about the
fort (Akabah), and to inform the Bedouin that they should not be far away
from the fort, but always be ready for the enemy and not to be afraid. I
hope God will permit that you are not found wanting. If any men-of-war
come in your direction, do not fire on them ; but if men go on shore, take
hold of them by hand, and if they fire, fire at them in return. Let me know
what is going on in your place. Don't be afraid. Don't wonder because
the Moslems are victorious by the grace of God.

When Abu Shedid learnt that the Christians whom I spoke of were
killed, he informed his Bedouin in writing that if they see any Christians,
they should get hold of them and send them to him in Cairo.

Till now we have not received any instructions from Cairo. Btit as
regards the four camels ....

(Here follows some business matters, which do not
concern this narrative.)

86 Prospective Arrangements. [CHAP. iv.

There was considerable discussion before our host
would allow this letter to be copied ; but eventually he
handed it over to us, and accepted a certified copy in its
stead. We tried to get some information as to who Abu
Mershed might be, and as to the locality of Wadi Sadr,
&c., but could learn little, for no one admitted knowing
anything about the country.

At mid-day we took the Governor and five of his
zaptiehs to see the Eclipse. They inspected the ship with
great wonder, and especially admired the guns for use in
the tops. In the afternoon, when we went on shore again,
we found that the townspeople and Bedouin had much
quieted down. Sketches were made of the fort and town,
and we examined the method of collecting water. The
drainage from the hills percolates through the sandy soil,
and runs on to the beach just above the level of the sea, so
that by digging down a few feet abundant fresh water can
be obtained ; but if the hole is made too deep; the water is
quite salt.

Having1 now gained all the information we were likely
to obtain at Akabah, Colonel Warren commenced to
arrange for the future, so that the Governor of Akabah
and neighbouring sheiks might assist our operations in the
desert. The Governor said that his jurisdiction did not
extend far beyond the fort, and declared that he could not
trust a single man at Akabah, not even to take a letter to
Nackl, they had all so thrown in their lot with Arabi.

We now turned to Mohammed Gad, a fine, grizzly-
haired Bedoui of commanding aspect. The sheik said
little, but when he did speak he spoke as one in authority.
He wore on his head a rich silk kef y eh, and sported in his
girdle a gorgeously embossed pair of tabtntja* (horse
pistols). He evidently considered himself immeasurably

CHAP, iv.] Mohammed Gad. 87

superior to the Governor of Akabah, and, indeed, the
contrast in the appearance of the two men would well
justify the assumption ; for the rugged appearance of the
old sheik looked to great advantage beside the French
polish of the little Egyptian soldier — kefiyeli against fez,
the flowing robes of the Bedoui against the blue-cloth
uniform of the soldier, sabre and pistol against sword,
sandals against those modern abominations of the
Continent, patent-leather " jemimas."

Mohammed Gad was chief sheik of the Alawin, a
branch of the Haiwatat. He had a bad name for cruelty
and lawlessness — a name which his tribe shared with him.
We, however, can only speak of him with affection and
respect ; he was such a delightful contrast to the half-
civilised Arab, so much more English in his ideas. He
proved himself most useful to us, for he was shrewd enough
to see that we were not to be trifled with, and there is
little doubt that his influence among the Bedouin and the
people of Akabah at the time of our visit went far to avert
bloodshed during our negotiations. He seemed quite
certain that the Governor of Nackl's letter could be relied
upon, though he asserted that he himself had not other-
wise heard of the murder, which he characterised as a
" shame " and a breach of faith. It was pointed out to
him that it was a case by which the Bedouin had forfeited
their claim to have their word respected : whereat he
retorted that they could not all be held answerable for the
bad faith of a few ; that there were good and bad in all
races, and all the Bedouin were not like Metter Sofia.
He blamed Metter Sofia for Palmer's untoward end, and
it is curious that in all parts of the desert this same view
prevailed. The Bedouin most logically looked upon the
man who betrayed the party as more guilty than those

88 Departure from Akabali. [CHAP. iv.

who actually committed tlie murder. Mohammed Gad
most solemnly declared that he would not allow any of the
culprits to pass through his country ; and offered to find
out all about the circumstances of the murder and send us
word over land.

Before we left the Governor asked for a testimonial as
to how he alone had upheld the Khedive's authority at
Akabah during the war. Colonel Warren did not see his
way to going thus far, but promised that he would let it be
known with what readiness the Governor had sacrificed his
colleague of Nackl, by giving up his letter in order to clear
himself. It was now getting late in the evening, and the
Akabese again began, under cover of the approaching
darkness, to get disagreeable — wanting to know what we
were waiting for, and crowding roughly round our party.
As we had now completed our arrangements we went down
to the boat, where we found three or four Arabs who asked
if we would take them to Suez, from whence they had fled
at the beginning of the war. We had no room in our
boat, but promised to send ashore for them in the morning.
After this we took leave of our friends of Akabah, and
went on board the Eclipse.

A boat was put off at 7 a.m. next morning for those
who wished to be taken to Suez, but they had all changed
their minds, and instead of any passengers excuses were
sent — some were too ill to come, and others could not be
found. We left our anchorage at 8.30 a.m., arriving at
Dhahab in the afternoon. Here we again landed, as the
Eclipse anchored here for the night, and we could see on
the beach four or five Bedouin, with whom we wished to
converse. However, before we could get ashore they bolted,
leaving only a simple fisherman, who knew about nothing
but fish. We walked on to some palm-trees a mile and a

CHAP, iv.] Captain Stephenson, R.N. 89

half up the coast ; but only found there a few camels, and
a boy who roared and screamed whenever he was asked a
question. All we could gather was that the people there
were of the M'saineh, a branch of the Towara, and a very
inoffensive race. Dhahab will probably always continue a
village on account of its fresh water and good anchorage.

We left again early in the morning and arrived at Suez
on October 14th. Here we found that the East Indian
Squadron had left, and H.M.S. Carysfort of the Mediter-
ranean Fleet had taken its place. The Carysfort was
commanded by Captain Stephenson, now Senior Naval
Officer at Suez, whom Colonel Warren at once visited to
report our proceedings. Telegrams were sent home
stating the little prospect that remained of finding the
party alive ; but as there was still a chance of the survival
of one or more, all arrangements were to be made with a
view to their succour and assistance.

CHAPTEE V.

RETURN TO SUEZ. THE HAIWATAT SHEIKS. ARRANGEMENTS FOR
THE EXPEDITION INTO THE DESERT. SUALEM ABU FARAG.
DIFFICULTIES WITH THE EGYPTIAN SHEIKS. ARRIVAL OF
MUSA NUSIER. GUARANTEES SAFETY OF COLONEL WARREN
AND PARTY : ALIGAT WITNESSES. THE OBJECT OF GOING
INTO THE DESERT.

DURING our absence at Akabah, Burton had got on with
the preparations for the desert expedition. The Bedouin
were fast arriving, in accordance with our requisition to
Biaz Pasha ; and some thirty of them, with their camels,
were already camped on the fringe of the desert outside
Suez. Colonel Warren had arranged that the men as they
arrived should have their various camping-grounds pointed
out to them ; and the Egyptian Government had to supply
them with rations. The provision of stores for one hun-
dred and fifty camels and their riders, being no small
matter, the officials of Suez soon showed more interest in
our proceedings than they had up to this time.

Baoulf Pasha, the Governor of Suez, was ill ; and
Reschid Bey, who was acting in his place, proposed that
the new Governor of Nackl should start at once for his
government, taking with him the grain for the pilgrims
and the year's rations for the soldiers. As there was no
escort to send with them, and as the Governor of Suez's
messenger to Nackl had been stripped and otherwise

CHAP, v.] Organising the Bedouin. 91

ill-treated a short time before by the desert Bedouin, it
seemed rather a venturesome course to adopt, and Hassan
Effendi said he would rather wait till he could be escorted
by our party.

Colonel Warren soon had occasion to talk to the
Egyptian sheiks. He told the Shedids that they had been
at Suez now ten days, and had not brought him one scrap
of information. The letter of the Governor of Nackl was
shown them, implicating their family in the fanatical
dealings of the desert Bedouin with Christians. They
urged that they had been unable to do anything in the
matter, as the Bedouin of the desert denied their authority.
This, in the face of their proposal to go into the desert
with one hundred and fifty men, to take by force those
prisoners we required, was palpably ridiculous ; and they
were warned that they were expected to show greater
energy in the matter, or an adverse report about them
would be sent to the Government at Cairo.

As the number of the Bedouin increased, Colonel
Warren found great difficulty in organising them into a
workable body. Altogether, the party would include
about fifteen different sheiks, and it was impractical that
all these should act independently on their own respon-
sibility. We naturally looked to Saad Shedid to control
the whole of them, but he pleaded that he was too young
to give orders to men so much his senior. Finally, the
Bedouin were divided into three parties, according to the
districts they belonged to, and a separate sheik was made
responsible for each party. These three divisions were : —
Haiwatat

1.

Ayeidi

Bili

Maasi

"•

district.

92 Mutual Hostility of Sheiks. [CHAP. v.

C Tumeilat ,

_b rom the onurkia district.

c

3. Terebin From Gizeh.

It was difficult to see how any combined action could be
expected from this heterogeneous body, and there were
special circumstances which increased our difficulties.
There was actually an active blood-feud between the
Terebin and the tribes of Ayeidi, Bili, and Maasi — these
tribes having formerly lived to the east of the Canal,
whence they were driven by the Terebin, who are a very
powerful tribe. During the war, in the intervals of
opposing our troops, this blood-feud had been actively
carried on, chiefly by the Maasi, a very warlike people ;
and they had more than once crossed the Canal and made
incursions into the desert, driving- off all the camels and
flocks they came upon, and then retiring to their fast-
nesses beyond the Attica range of mountains, where they
were pretty safe from similar incursions, being more
directly under the eye of the Government. The hostility
of the sheiks when they first came in council together was
therefore intense, and it needed the tightest hold over
them to produce anything like combined action.

On October 1 7th there arrived three important men :
Sualeni Abu Farag, one of Shedid's head-men, M'dackle,
the head camel-driver that accompanied Palmer's party,
and Ode Ismaili, the sheik of the Aligat. It may here be
mentioned that the Aligat are one of the Towara subdivi-
sions, over all of which Musa Nusier presides, and it was
from the Aligat that Palmer got his camels and drivers ;
thus, Ode Ismaili was M'dackle's sheik.

Sualem Abu Farag had been actively engaged during
the war. He had been in command of the Bedouin
called out by Arabi to cover Cairo from the expected

CHAP, v.] Sualem Abu Farag. 93

advance of the Indian Contingent from Suez, and he was
Shedid's right hand in the desert. His authority appeared
to be acknowledged by all parts of the Haiwatat tribe,
east, as well as west of the Canal ; and we came to the
conclusion that he had been only lately in the desert thwart-
ing our endeavours at opening up communication with the
Bedouin. He came into our hands owing to the vigilance
of some soldiers of the Indian Contingent at Nefichi, where
he was made prisoner on account of some irregularity in
his papers, as he was attempting to pass from Egypt into
the desert east of the Canal. This man, of lithe, active
frame, and somewhat sullen demeanour, was a person of
some importance, and it soon became evident that through
him the Shedids were playing a very double game. It was
recognised by all the Bedouin that, as Shedid's lieutenant,
during the war, Sualem had done his utmost to stir up
hostility to the Christians, and that he was a man of
authority over, if not actual sheik of, the very Haiwatat
who had attacked Palmer's party; and here he was, sent to
join our expedition for the solution of the mystery which
enshrouded Palmer's disappearance, and to exact penalties
of the guilty parties ! The Shedids professed to distrust
Sualem, and got permission to keep his son in detention as
hostage for his good behaviour while he was with us in the
desert, contemplating, apparently, that at some future
time Sualem might make a convenient scape-goat to save
themselves by ; while Sualem secretly told Colonel Warren
that the Shedids were throwing obstacles in our way,
but that he would engage to catch any Bedouin we
wanted.

Bather an amusing incident connected with Sualem
occurred at this time. We were at Government House,
and Consul West was reading out a list of those people

94 The Aligdt. [CHAP. v.

whom Colonel Warren desired to be brought in, in order
that the various sheiks might take note of the names At
an early period in the preparation of the list Sualem Abu
Farag's name had been entered, as he was a sheik of the
barra Haiwatat — the Haiwatat east of the Canal — some
of whom were present at the attack on Palmer. When
Sualem heard his name read out, there was considerable
embarrassment noticeable in his face and in the faces of the
other sheiks present, each of whom wondered whose turn
would come next. Mr. West, however, not being conver-
sant with all the details of the evidence, and seeing the
man before him who was required, with the other criminals,
was on the point of making him a prisoner when, much
to Sualem's relief, Colonel Warren interfered, intimating
that for the present Sualem could remain at large.

The evidence of the Aligat Bedouin was useful to us
in correcting a tendency, which the Shedids lost no oppor-
tunity of increasing, to throw the responsibity for the
outrage on Palmer on the Towara. This aspect of the case
was strengthened by the prolonged absence of Musa Nusier,
who had been expected at Suez for some considerable time,
and whose backwardness in presenting himself might
plausibly be adduced as evidence of his complicity in the
{jrime.

On October 18th an influential old sheik, Abu Sarhan
of the Terebin, arrived from Grizeh, and immediately came
in for a good deal of reproach from the other sheiks, whose
tribes were not directly implicated in the attack on Palmer.
They seemed to think it a good opportunity of showing
their discontent and determination not to do the work
required of them. Some wanted to do one thing and
some another. The Nofiat wanted to escort the new
Governor and the supplies to Nackl, and leave the matter

CHAP, v.] Arrival of Sheik Musa. 95

of Palmer's disappearance to those tribes implicated ; and
the tribes implicated professed to have no influence with
their brethren across the Canal. Others, like the Maasi,
Bili, and Ayeidi, contented themselves with protesting- at
being brought out on a service which had nothing to
do with them or their country. Raoulf Pasha took their
part and said " Let those sheiks who have men on the list
of those implicated go in search of their men, while the
others go back to their homes." Colonel Warren, how-
ever, objected to any whittling down of the expedition,
but insisted that all should go to Nackl to instal Hassen
Effendi in his command.

On October 19th Musa Nusier at last arrived at Suez.
His coming was opportune, as the expedition was ready to
start ; and it was palpable to all that unless Colonel Warren
went justice would not be done, but the Bedouin would
combine for the purpose of closing the inquiry as
expeditiously as possible, by removing all trace of the
crime from our reach, and perhaps inventing a story
and providing scape -goats, in accordance with many a like
precedent in the history of Eastern government. Musa,
however, at once engaged to safe-conduct Colonel Warren
and his staff in the desert, and the way was thus cleared
for an early start.

Musa, sheik of the Towara sheiks, was a fine specimen
of a Bedoui ; and, in some respects, was not unworthy of
the name of the great Law-giver, who led Israel through
the desert. Although having little executive power over his
tribe, which is a weak one compared with others in the desert,
there was probably no sheik whose safe-conduct was likely
to be more generally respected than Musa's. In appearance
he was tall and stately, of from 40 to 50 years of age, and
his person conspicuous by the absence of the weapons

96 Miisa Defends the Aliydt.

whicli generally bedeck a Bedoui chieftain. In council,
although the representative of the poor Towara only, he
bore a preponderating influence, which was due to his
known probity, good judgment, and moderation. He
had more than once suffered imprisonment for his tribe, in
the course of his opposition to Government in their mis-
government of the Bedouin ; and several times he had
succeeded in his advocacy and been the instrument of the
withdrawal of some unjust burden from his people.
During the ferment in the desert caused by the revolt of
Arabi, Musa succeeded with skilful felicity of purpose in
maintaining the neutrality of his people ; so that while
to the Arabs, Towara and Christians were almost as
one category, to the English little or no advance was
made.

Musa Nusier explained his tardy arrival by saying he
had had much trouble with his own people on account of
fanatical emissaries of the Haiwatat tribe ; they having
endeavoured to stir up the Towara to sack Tor and
massacre the Christians there and at Mount Sinai.

A true father of his people, his abilities were at once
required to defend the Aligat tribe, on whom the Shedids
were endeavouring to throw the responsibility of the attack
on Palmer. Musa at once threw his energies into the work,
and by his influence over Ode Ismaili and the Aligat
camel-drivers, these men were made to speak out much
more freely than they had before. The story which we
had heard from Salami, Palmer's camel-driver, was sub-
stantiated by this fresh evidence ; and, except for offering
no resistance to the attacking party, little blame could be
attached to the Towara for their conduct in relation to
Palmer's untoward end.

Ode Ismaili stated that he refused to go with Palmer

CHAP, v.] Account of Palmer s Death. 97

more than once, when Palmer was trying to find camels to
start with from Suez ; but, notwithstanding the sheik's
hanging back, the discipline of his tribe was so lax that
several Aligat were engaged by Palmer as camel-drivers.
We obtained from Ismaili, who was of a very excitable
temperament, a curious account of Palmer's death, which,
although hearsay, and painted in somewhat high relief,
represents very nearly what actually occurred. This
account was given at Grovernment-House, where Colonel
Warren happened one day to be examining the witnesses,
contrary to his usual custom of conducting the examina-
tion, in a private room at the Suez Hotel ; and, although
we had tried, with success up to this time, to keep all
the details of the massacre from getting into the public
prints, we failed on this occasion, and this account was
spread about all-the-world-over. In it was described how
" Palmer and his companions were taken to a very steep
place in the mountains, hard-by to some water, and there
their captors gave them the choice of being thrown over
the precipice, or shot. Palmer (Sheik Abdullah, as the
Bedouin called him), seeing they were surely to die, stretched
his arms towards heaven, and, calling down the vengeance
of the Almighty on their cruel captors, jumped over the
cliff." It is exceedingly probable that such an appeal
was made by Palmer, although this description of it was
not substantiated by any other witness ; but it is easy to
understand that the recollection of such an act would be
unpalatable to a Moslem, viewing, as he must have done,
the retribution that was overtaking the participants in
Palmer's death — retribution which approached with slow,
measured steps, as under the hand of the Almighty, from
Whom there was no escaping until the pursuing hand

H

98 Plan of Action.

were stayed — retribution exacted by Christians, from
Moslem Bedouin, for acts contrary to the Mohammedan
religion and to Bedoui tradition.

With the assistance of Musa Nusier the location of
Wadi Sadr was at last satisfactorily determined, and the
waters on that route to Nackl ascertained. It was unfor-
tunate in this respect that we had not with us a good series
of books which refer to this part of the world, as the
position of Wadi Sadr might then have been more easily
decided. However, our many inquiries were not thrown
away, and Sualem Abu Fara'g and the Shedids were
now, by means of them, incorrectly under the impression
that, by feigning ignorance of the place, they had suc-
ceeded in veiling from us the position of this all-important
wadi.

Musa Nusier having provided camels for our use, a
contract was drawn up and signed in the presence of
the Governor of Suez, making him responsible for our
safe-conduct ; and the Bedouin were sent off to Ayun
Musa, where we were to join them on the morrow
by sea.

The objects, that the expedition into the desert was
to achieve, have already been detailed ; the purposed
plan of action was as follows : — We were to go straight
to Nackl with our whole force of Bedouin, and instal
Hassan Effendi safely in his seat of government, re-
mitting the ex-governor under escort for safe-conduct
to Suez. At Nackl, Colonel Warren was to divide his
forces into two parts — one, of eighty men, under Sualem Abu
Farag, would go and bring in the suspected persons of
the Haiwatat and Terebin ; the other, under Musa
Nusier, would go after Metter Sofia and his nephew of
the Lehewat tribe. Orders were given to the new

CHAP, v.] Consul harangues Sheiks. 99

Governor of Nackl to give us every assistance, and letters
were written to Sheik Misleh (Amir of the Tiyahah)
asking his help to secure Metter Sofia. Before starting,
the sheiks of the expedition were again summoned before
the Governor and informed by him what was to be done,
and several of the elder sheiks were given over into
custody, to be kept until the expedition should return in
safety. The Consul then harangued the sheiks, many of
whom were plaintively urging the impossibility of their
doing what was required of them, without stirring up
feuds which would bring trouble on their heads for
generations to come. He told them they had come down
to do this business, and to catch the men that were
required ; and if they could not do it with their present
numbers they must get another hundred men to help
them, or a thousand if necessary ; but do it they must.
Justice had to be satisfied, and the stain on Bedoui
hospitality wiped away by the delivering-up of the
perpetrators of the crime to suffer the just penalties of
the law.

With the despatch of the sheiks to join their parties
at Ayun Musa, we felt that we were drawing close to the
solution of the mystery which we had so far been unable
satisfactorily to dispel ; and the change from perpetual
examination and cross-examination of unwilling witnesses
in the baking temperature of a Suez autumn, to a life of
action in the desert, could not be otherwise than inviting.
It has often been remarked that it was a foolhardy enter-
prise to put ourselves in the power of those very men who
had been fighting us a few weeks before, and to follow
Palmer's party bent on an avenging errand, which we
.could only carry out by the help of the friends of the

H 2

100 Not a Foolhardy Enterprise. [CHAP. v.

very men we were to exact vengeance of. It would have
been easy, said the critics, to have tumbled us over the
same cliff that Palmer died at, or to have shot us, and
brought back our bodies as killed in fighting against the
desert Bedouin ; and the sands of the desert may be made
to close behind a party, leaving no trace of its course,
as readily as do the waves of the sea. Such theorising
is all very well, and can be applied to other incidents.
When Gordon rode into the hostile slave-dealer's camp,
some hours before his troops could arrive, he may have
been doing a most foolish thing judged by all ordinary
standards and precedents ; but Gordon had counted the
cost, and was satisfied that the object to be attained was
worth the risk. In our case we had also to count the
cost, and Colonel Warren had amply insured our safety, for,
escorted as we were by Nile Bedouin under the great Sheik
Shedid's representative, great trouble would have been
brought on the Bedouin in the case of anything untoward
happening to us. In addition to this, Colonel Warren
exhibited a personal ascendency over the Bedouin that
triumphed over all minor difficulties — an ascendency due not
so much to a happy way of treating them, such as Palmer
relied upon, but based on a rigid straightforwardness,* an
absolute rectitude of conduct, backed by the prestige of
the lately-conquering Power and the support of the

* The opinion of Lady Hester Stanhope, given in the pages of
" Eothen," is noticeable in this connection. Her ladyship, than whom no
one was better acquainted with the Bedouin of these parts, says : — " A
downright manner, amounting even to brusqueness, is more effective than
any other with the Oriental ; and that amongst the English of all ranks
and all classes, there is no man so attractive to the Oriental — no man who
can negotiate with them so effectively — as a good, honest, open-hearted, and
positive naval officer of the old school."

The Vendetta. 101

re-established Government. This ascendency converted
the rude sons of the desert into easy tools, unwilling
though they were, and even produced in them a fellow-
feeling. " Were these not Palmer's kin come to avenge
his blood ? Blood must be satisfied, for Abdullah
and his companions were not killed in battle, and he
was justified in calling on Heaven to avenge them."
Such might have been their thoughts — thoughts well
adapted to compel attention in the mind of a fatalistic
Arab.

CHAPTER VI.

DEPARTURE FROM SUEZ. AYUN MUSA. THE SEARCH-EXPEDITION
STARTS. WADI SADR. ARRIVAL AT SITE WHERE PALMER'S
BAGGAGE WAS PLUNDERED. IBN MERSHED ESCAPES. SOME
CAPTIVES. CAMP AT TUSSET SADR. EVIDENCE OF SALAMI.
DISPOSITIONS FOR THE MORROW. UNRELIABLE CHARACTER OF
OUR BEDOUIN. DISCOVERT OF THE REMAINS OF PALMER AND
HIS COMPANIONS. START FOR NACKL. JOURNEYING ACROSS
THE DESERT ON THE Tin. MISSION OF SUALEM ABU PARAG.

THE morning of October 20th was spent very busily,
packing up and seeing the numerous visitors who called
to wish us Grod-speed. Governor Raoulf Pasha was among
the number, and the interpreter being busily engaged in
preparations for our start, Colonel Warren had the task of
entertaining His Excellency ; and, as the Pasha spoke a
mixture of Arabic and Turkish, which was quite unin-
telligible to us, the task was a somewhat difficult one.
The Pasha having bowed himself out of the hotel, and
our baggage being put on board a felucca, we were ready
to start soon after noon ; intending to sail over to Ayun
Musa, whither our Bedouin had gone before, and were
now marking with a black line the glaring desert in the
distance beyond the harbour. However, the wind was
unfavourable, and there was nothing for it but to wait
until one of Captain Stephenson's launches, the Polly, was
sent to tow us down the harbour. The launch having

CHAP, vi.] Start for the Desert. 103

arrived, we got on board our felucca, all except Ode Ismaili
and Musa Nusier, who were to have gone with us, but
had been nowhere to be found for some time ; and about
5 p.m. we started, pounding away down the harbour after
the snorting little Polly, in company with Captain Stephen-
son in his launch. Arrived at the entrance of the Canal
we saw a party of Bedouin on the far shore ; and, thinking
it might be some of our men, Colonel Warren got into
Captain Stephenson's launch, which drew less water than
the Polly, and went off to see. The party turned out to
be Musa Nusier and Ode Ismaili with some Towara, who,
not knowing exactly what they were to do, were waiting,
like Mr. Micawber, for something to turn up. Fortunately
the right thing did turn up in the person of our Chief,
and they were soon packed off to Ayun Musa to be ready
to start with the caravan next day.

Proceeding down the anchorage of Suez past the light-
ship, we were at last able to get a fair wind into the
quarantine pier at Ayun Musa; so we said good-bye
to Captain Stephenson, cast off the Polly, and away she
went puffiting back to H.M.S. Carysfort. The sun had
set, and we could just see through the dusk the dark
line of palm-groves at Ayun Musa; and this fading
away soon left nothing of the land in front of us
visible, except the fires of the quarantine camp, and
our Bedouin's bivouac.

The felucca sped across the waters, driven by the
freshening evening breeze, and in enforced idleness we sat
and smoked, speculating on the course of events before us.
In our quest for information about the business we had in
hand, we had heard much of the country we were now
going to enter for the first time, but the testimony of our
informants was obscured by contradiction. Was it an arid

104 We join Sheik Musa. [CHAP.VI.

desert, which the fringe bordering on the Canal had often
shown to us — a desert with waters small and far between,
and therefore supporting a sparse population ; or was it a
fat land, with a company of fifty thousand fighting men ?
If the latter (and Palmer, than whom there was no better
authority, had said so), where would we be with our
party of one hundred and fifty Bedouin, impressed into
our service by the orders of the newly-established Govern-
ment, and possessing neither cohesion, discipline, nor love
for their leaders ?

About 8 p.m., as the moon rose over the land ahead of
us, we arrived at the quarantine pier. Here we found Musa
Nusier and Ode- Ismaili, and, acting in accordance with
a pre-arranged plan, Colonel Warren sent back Ode
Ismaili in the boat to Suez, as soon as our belongings
were unloaded. Ismaili carried with him a letter to
the Governor of Suez, requesting that the bearer be
made a prisoner until we returned from the desert.
Colonel Warren had decided to keep Ode until all the
camel-drivers of his tribe, that accompanied Palmer on
his last journey, had come in and given their testimony.
There had always been something suspicious about this
man's behaviour, and Musa Nusier himself concurred in
the desirability of detaining him at Suez while we were
in the desert. As sheik of the Aligat he ought never to
have allowed his men to go as camel-drivers with Palmer,
when he had suspicions that the country was unsafe ;
especially as he had himself twice refused to go with
Palmer. Although this man took 110 active part in the
outrage, there was a very general feeling against him
in the matter — a feeling which it was somewhat diffi-
cult to exactly account for, but which could not be
disregarded.

CHAP, vi.] A Midnight Visitor. 105

Loading our baggage on Musa Nusier's camels, we
proceeded up the pier to the quarantine camp, where we
selected a spot to pass the night. The quarantine officer
offered us the use of his tents, which were then empty ;
but ten days before, a party of pilgrims, which had come
up the Red Sea from Mecca, had occupied them, so we
politely declined his hospitality, and, scraping a clean spot
on the sand, settled down for the night in the open.
Adam, our cook, was set to work to prepare our supper,
and we overhauled our baggage and stores to see that
nothing important was left behind. It requires a very old
hand to cater for an expedition into the desert without
leaving out a few necessaries, and therefore, it is always
advisable to camp out on starting close to one's base of
operations, from which, if necessary, things can be sent 011
after one. In our case we found ourselves deficient of an
absolutely necessary article, a tin-opener, but were able to
obtain one from the quarantine camp in exchange for a pot
of marmalade.

After supper we lit our pipes and got into our blankets,
for sand, on which we had bivouacked, gets very cold
during the night ; and after writing up our diaries and a
few letters for home, were soon fast asleep. About two
o'clock in the morning we were awakened by arrivals in
the camp ; these turned out to be Reschid Bey and an
interpreter from Cairo, Josef Eaad, whom Colonel Warren
had sent for to join our party. Rescind Bey had been
sent out by Raoulf Pasha, he being anxious about Ode
Ismaili, who had not arrived at Suez when they started ;
and the Governor also wished to show the Bedouin that we
had the support of the permanent Government. After
some coffee and cigarettes Eeschid Bey left to return
to Suez, carrying with him our post-bag ; and, left to

106 Composition of Party. [CHAP. vi.

ourselves, we were soon asleep again, dreaming- of home,
precipices, and Bedouin.

In the morning we started off for Ayun Musa, where
our Bedouin were encamped. At Ayun Musa there are
some gardens situated upon sand-hills, slightly elevated
above the surrounding country : on the summits of several
of these hills are springs, wells, or pools of water, slightly
brackish, but excellent for irrigating purposes ; and round
them are grouped palms and pomegranate-trees giving a
very luxuriant shade. We visited the houses which had
been looted by the Bedouin, but little damage had been
done as far as we could see.

Our Bedouin, who were grouped round the water,
were divided into small camps, under separate sheiks.
Those from the Sharkia district were under Hadj
Mohammed Shedid ; those from the Khalyub district
under Mohammed Hassan of the Nofiat ; while the Terebin
had Sheik Abu Sarhan at their head. Sualem Abu Farag
occupied the position of free-lance ; but he was looked up
to as the man to whom, if any concerted fighting was to
be done, the direction would naturally fall. In addition
to the above, Musa Nusier and his party of Towfira formed
our own camp ; and Hassan Effendi, with the convoy of
supplies for the fort of Nackl, had his. The whole
expedition numbered about three hundred and seventy men,
with two hundred camels.

Some time was spent inspecting the different camps,
in becoming acquainted with the capacity of the different
units, and the preparations that they had made for the
work in front of them. As long as they had been in Suez
under the eye of the Government the Bedouin were very
meek and amenable to discipline ; but now in the desert
they at once asserted a different mien, and Colonel Warren

CHAP, vi.] Change of Route. 107

had to reduce them roughly to their proper position. They
appeared to think that we would be quite unable to arrange
the details of the marches, and that we would place our-
selves entirely in their hands to go when and where
they liked : questions as to the road and country were

A HALT IN THE DESERT.

answered in an unwilling manner as having little to do
with us, and there was apparent a consensus of intention
to take things very easily.

The immediate destination of the expedition had been
given out as Nackl, and the Bedouin had assumed that we
should follow along the ordinary Hadj route, watering at
Marbook about twenty miles from Suez. Colonel Warren,
however, had determined to follow in Palmer's footsteps up
Wadi Sadr, and early in the afternoon called the head-
sheiks together, and told them of his purpose. They at
once threw difficulties in the way. "Wadi Sadr," they
said " was a wild place, where they might all perish for
want of water ; the road was rough and little known, and
it would be impossible to take the convoy of grain that
way." Colonel Warren declined to allow the expedition to
be divided into two parties, and insisted on an early start
being made for Wadi Sadr. The sheiks, however, refused

108 Maintenance of Authority.

«/ v

to acknowledge that this route was practicable ; so Colonel
Warren gave orders for the camels to load up, and warning
the sheiks that they must follow us or incur the anger of
the Government, we started with Musa Nusier on the road
to Wadi Sadr. Sualem Abu Farag, the only man in the
expedition who rode a horse, after a few minutes trotted up
alongside of us, and we soon learnt that the whole caravan
was in motion docilely following in our footsteps. That
march we only did about ten miles, and bivouacked for the
night in a little wadi which ran across our path, where
Palmer also had made his first halt. This change of plan,
whereby Colonel Warren was able to follow a route which
the Bedouin did not credit us with knowing of — either in
respect to the locality, capacity as a road for a heavy
column, or for the water to be found on the route — proved
very opportune to the success of our inquiry. In a few
days the rain fell in this part of the country, washing away
all traces that remained of the murder; thus we should
have lost all the circumstantial evidence that we were
actually enabled to obtain, if we had not insisted on going
up Wadi Sadr.

It may here be of advantage to describe our party, at
the head of which we may put ourselves — three Englishmen
of a rather nondescript appearance, made up of corduroy-
trousers, gaiters, flannel-shirts, any sort of coat, mushroom
pith-hats, swords, revolvers, and very red faces. We had
not yet learnt to discard our hats for the Bedoui head-
dress, and cover ourselves during daytime with the goat-
hair abba, which forms an excellent protection from
the burning rays of the sun : these improvements came
later with the teachings of experience.

Our interpreters, Selim Mosalli and Josef Raad, were
both Syrians from Beyrout. They had been brought over

CHAP, vi.] Personnel of Party. 109

at the outbreak of the war by the Admiralty, to serve
with the expeditionary forces in Egypt ; and now that the
war was over, were thinking1, when we engaged them, of
returning to their native land. Excellent linguists,
speaking half-a-dozen languages each, both had previously
been employed as dragomen to tourists, and were infinitely
useful in the details of camp-equipment, and in arranging
for travelling in the desert. Of a dark-skinned, handsome,
brave, and hardy race, these men were well used to the
Bedouin, and we had often to be thankful that we had got
them instead of some poor Egyptian dragomen, who, from
their feeble, down-trodden nature, are generally unsuitable
for employment in transactions requiring nerve and sang-
froid.

We also took with us two somewhat hybrid in-
dividuals— Ossad, a Persian merchant, who knew a good
deal about the Bedouin, from whom he purchased
turquoises, and who had been very useful to us at Suez
during the progress of our inquiry ; and Adam, our cook.
This latter was of unknown nationality, and his appearance
savoured of the Levantine from the Turkish provinces in
Europe ; he was always dirty, and dressed in a medley of
Eastern and European cast-off clothing. This gentleman
wanted a good deal of coaching in his duties, and we all
assisted to teach him to cook, with the result that by the
end of our first journey in the desert, he was tolerably
competent. Adam always took his time, and of an
evening, after arriving in camp, our mess was always
served about an hour after the Bedouin were curled up
asleep — they having fed their camels, made their bread,
had supper, and the usual smoke round the camp-fire
before turning in. We could stand this in the evening,
but in the early morning, to start without our customary

110 Wadi KaJi all/i. [CHAP. vi.

chocolate and porridge, was a serious trial ; and Adam had
to be put through a course of early rising, which he
triumphantly survived ; and thenceforth long before the
first streak of dawn illuminated the sky, we would realise
in our slumbers the crackling of sticks under the pot, and
know that Adam was practising his art for our benefit.

The rest of our party, except the new Governor of
Nackl, Hassan Effendi, and his Nubian servant, were
Bedouin, and as such need no description to English
readers.

On the morning of the 22nd we started early, and,
travelling over a succession of low sandy hills, arrived at
Wadi Kahalin about nine o'clock. On the march we were
usually accompanied by Musa Nusier and Sualem Abu
Farag. Owing to the close relations between the latter
and the men who attacked Palmer, we were always
somewhat suspicious of his intentions towards us. A
little wiry fellow, with small black eyes, and a deter-
mined look on his browned sedate face, we knew him for
the greatest cut-throat and the most feared man among
our retinue. Taciturn for an Eastern, he even dispensed
with the ornate salutations current with the Bedouin, and
showed by his behaviour that he was determined to
impress us with his character as a man of action. As we
approached each rise of the ground Sualem trotted off to
the top, and sitting there on his little Arab steed, with
rifle in hand, he made a fine picture of a scout, for our
delectation.

We had hitherto followed accurately in Palmer's foot-
steps, halting at the two places he had. In fact, the desert
offers so little facility for change of route, and the Bedouin
are so familiar with their country and the way it has for
centuries been travelled over, that, whatever the circum-

CHAP. vi.] Entrance to Wadi Sadr. Ill

stances, the halting-places are rarely changed, although the
road may be so little used as hardly to be tracked at all
except by a Bedoui. After a short halt at Wadi Kahalin
we started again for Wadi Sadr, the entrance of which
we could now plainly detect as it breaks the outline of
Jebel Bahah — the name by which the Bedouin here style
the mountains east of Suez, on the edge of the Tih. This
Tih, or " Desert of the Wanderings," as it is sometimes
termed in travellers' maps, is the central plateau of Arabia
Petrsea, at about the middle of which is Nackl. It is
bounded on the south by a very marked escarpment,*
oftentimes falling abruptly a thousand or more feet in one
all but perpendicular scarp ; and here and there, as in the
case of Wadi Sadr, the scarp is broken away by a icadi
which extends far into the plateau in rear, and the scarp
runs back on either side. In the centre of the gap before
us stood a mountain — Tel el Bisher — which we had seen
continuously since leaving Ayun Musa, and which now
stood towering over us as sentinel of the wadi which we
were entering. From scarp to scarp the gap must, at its
mouth, have a width of several miles ; and thus, in this
country, which has, and has had for many centuries, a very
meagre rainfall, a vast notion is formed of the process of
denudation, and the period of time through which it has
to act. The limestone precipices, which form the most
prominent feature of the scarps of Wadi Sadr, are every-
where carved and fluted in a marvellous way by Nature's
processes, and resemble nothing so much as the stone

* This escarpment has by some been identified with the Shur of
Scripture. It is probable, however, that the Desert of Shur was more to the
north, and was so named from the line of fortifications which, at the time of
the Exodus, protected Egypt on its north-eastern frontier.

112

Looted Baycjaye.

[CHAP. VI.

reredoses of some of our Grothic cathedrals, or the clusters
of pilasters and buttresses which adorn some of our more
ornate exteriors.

About one o'clock we arrived at a spring, Ain Abu
Jerad, where the Bedouin wished to halt. However,
Colonel Warren had his reasons for not halting this time
at the accustomed place, and we passed on, spreading out in

TEL EL BISHER.

extended order and sweeping up the wadi in search of any
traces of the baggage, which we knew had been plundered
close to this spring. Our search was quickly rewarded.
First a piece of tin was found, then some broken wood and
pieces of paper ; and a mile from the spring we reached the
spot where the baggage had been looted, and found the
remains of a portmanteau, a sponge, an iron camp -fireplace,
and several smaller articles. Here we found also a quantity
of note-paper with envelopes of the flag-ship Eiiryahix,
letters to Lieutenant Charrington, and a mutilated copy of

CHAP, vi.] Bivouac in Wadi Sadr. 113

" Don Juan," with the following on the cover, " John
Charrington, 1823." Following up the valley we found
more paper, parts of maps, a Bradshaw's Guide, old news-
papers, the peak of a forage-cap, two cakes of moist water-
colour, and a bottle of essence of camphor. There was
nothing, however, amongst all these articles that could be
surely identified as belonging to either Gill or Palmer.
Mounting our camels again — for our search had perforce
been conducted on foot — we rode on, eagerly seeking for
more signs of the missing party. There had often been
retailed to us a story of a camel having been shot at the
attack, and we hoped to find its remains to mark the place ;
but no camel was found, and at sunset we bivouacked in
the wadi in an open place hemmed in on either hand by
steep precipices.

The day had been a satisfactory one for the progress
of our inquiry. The cameleers' story had been confirmed
by the evidence of the looted baggage, and we might hope
to be within easy reach of evidence of the fate of our
missing countrymen. We were, however, in hostile
country, close to where Palmer had been attacked, and could
not be quite unapprehensive of our own position ; so
sending out some parties of Bedouin to look out and camp
ahead of us, we chose a snug place for our night's resting-
place under the overhanging rocks of one side of the wadiy
which was here bounded by cliffs some fifty feet high.

Next morning the camp was roused before dawn for an
early start. That morning is chiefly memorable to me by
the kicking of Adam, and the porridge he was leisurely
preparing, into the fire because our breakfast was not ready
for us to eat. It rather startled Adam, but he had yet to
learn many things, and he never failed to supply us with
breakfast again.

114 Ibn Mershed Escapes. [CHAP. vi.

Carefully searching for any vestiges of Palmer's party
we made our way up the wadi. About ten o'clock we
neared the water of Abu Bigem, about seventeen miles
above Ain Abu Jerad ; and here the road left the water-
course to the north and crossed over some low hills. At
this point we caught sight of a man about a mile off :
he appeared to be trying to make his escape towards the
hills beyond, and we immediately gave chase. Two more
fugitives were seen, and our Bedouin were soon in full
cry. Sualem Abu Farag on his horse, and the better-
mounted Bedouin, rapidly out-paced us, for we were
but tyros at the art of galloping our camels ; and our
pursuit taking us to the water of Abu Bigem, we dropt
out of the chase to search for any more Bedouin who
might be hiding in the underwood near the water. Our
search was rewarded by the capture of an old man and
several women ; one of whom proved to be the wife of a
Terebin, Hassan Ibn Mershed, who had frequently been
named to us as one of the principal men in the attack on
Palmer. The other three Bedouin escaped, and much to
our chagrin we learnt that one of them was Ibn Mershed
himself. It appears that they had their guns with them,
and fired several shots (the reports of which we heard) at
our Bedouin who were following them, and who promptly
gave up the pursuit. Ibn Mershed had heard of our pro-
posed journey to Nackl, and, expecting we would go by
the ordinary route, had come here with his flocks to be out
of our way ; thus we had taken him by surprise.

Our caravan was halted at the water, and Colonel
Warren sent out the Bedouin to all sides to make any
captives they could, while he examined the prisoners. The
old man, whose name was Salami, was a cripple. He said
he was the care-taker of the palm-trees, of which there

CHAP vi.] Tidings of the Murder, 115

were several there. He was found in possession of a
tobacco-pouch, marked " H. Charrington," which he
asserted had been given him by Ibn Mershed. Amongst
the hair-ornaments of Ibn Mershed's wife we saw a silver
pencil-case. No information of importance was to be got
from the captives, and when our parties returned from
their fruitless pursuit of Ibn Mershed and his men, we
decided to move to another water, some two and a half
hours further up the ivadi, where we should be less
exposed to attack if Ibn Mershed were to gather his men
and try to retake his wife by force. The conduct of our
Bedouin had been most unsatisfactory, and gave us some
anxiety at this time. We considered that they could, if
they had so chosen, have captured Ibn Mershed, and their
failure in this respect could only be attributed to bad faith.
At the same time they appeared to be much concerned for
their own safety, and to be only longing to return to their
flesh-pots in Egypt. Taking our captives with us, we
contiued our march up the valley to the water of Tusset
Sadr. Here we found another fine water and more
palms, and choosing a flat open site we bivouacked for
the night.

During the evening, old Salami, who was of the Aligat
tribe, and therefore under Musa Nusier's jurisdiction, was
induced to speak out ; and told us that he had heard Ibn
Mershed and another Bedoui talking over the attack on
Palmer and his subsequent murder. He surmised that
the site of the murder could not be far away from the
water of Abu Bigem, and thought that he might be able
to find the spot if we wished to visit it. Later on in the
evening, Salami's memory revived under the vivifying
influence of the faithful Musa Nusier ; and he came to us
again to say that he knew where the bodies of the white

i 2

116 Simlems Mission. FCHAP. vi.

men were, and that one had fallen into the water at the
bottom of a gully.

To us who had been struggling on for so many days in this
inquiry with the barest possible progress, the rapidity with
which the mystery was now unfolding itself was sufficiently
startling. However, the information demanded immediate
action, and Colonel Warren decided to go and see the site
of the murder at once ; lest those Bedouin in our party
(the Shedids in particular) who were interested in burking
the inquiry, should remove the bodies. Again, since the
bodies had fallen into a gully, and the season of year had
arrived when rain was expected, it was absolutely necessary
to visit it at once, lest the rain should come and the gully
be swept clean by a torrent before our arrival. There was
some probability that we might be attacked if we visited
the site of the murder, passing as we should have to do
the water where we had surprised Ibn Mershed : so, to
minimise this chance, and get rid of some of the dis-
affected and more troublesome of our escort, Colonel
Warren gave orders for the despatch of a party of seventy
men to a water half a day's journey to the east, with
instructions to capture any Bedouin they might find there ;
while, with the remainder of our men, he intended to
retrace his steps and visit the place of the murder.

Early next morning, October 24th, Colonel Warren
sent off Sualem Abu Farag and his party of Bedouin.
We then set out with a party of sixty men to visit the site
of the murder, the Governor of Nackl and the rest of the
Bedouin being left to defend the camp. Proceeding on
our mission, we soon found our party of sixty reduced to
about twenty-five, the rest having slinked away back to
camp, being either too indolent or afraid to come on. Colonel
Warren sent back for them, and we started again with about,

CHAP, vi.] Tie Site of the Murder. 117

fifty-five men. Mohammed Shedid and four men were
detached as a scouting party, to ride some distance in
front of the main body, but as we neared the palm-trees
of Abu Bigem, our scouts disappeared, and after some
time wasted in searching for them, we continued our
march without them. It was clear we could trust none of
our men out of our sight, so Colonel Warren put two
Bedouin in front, and held the rest of the party close
together. Another woman was captured close to Abu
Eigem, a Haiwatat, wife of a man named Nassier, and she
was taken on with us.

We continued our march down the right bank of Wadi
Sadr, which here follows a somewhat tortuous course,
different from the way we had come up the day before.
On leaving Abu Rigem, the valley began to narrow, with
ledges shelving in on either side. The sides got steeper
and steeper, until there was merely a camel-track along
the ledge, with precipices above and below us — on our
right to the cliffs above, on our left to the gully below.
The gully was about twenty feet broad and fifty deep, with
pools of water in places at the bottom ; and the edges at
the top so rounded off that it was with difficulty we could
see down to the bottom. On we went till we reached a
spot about six miles below Abu Eigem, where the ledge
broadened out, making a cave in a re-entering angle ; in
the middle of which, in a cistern formed out of limestone-
rock by the dripping of water from the roof above, was a
pellucid pool of water. Salami tells us that the bodies
were beneath us in the gully ; but as we could see nothing
of them from above, and we had had a long fast, we retired
to the cave to lunch before commencing what we inferred
would be a lugubrious and sickening task.

While we were lunching, shouts were heard from

118 Remains of tlie Bodies. [CHAP. vi.

below. Ascertaining the cause, we found that Mohammed
Shedid and our scouts had arrived at the same spot as we
had, they having come up the gully from some miles
below — and this without any guide, though they had pro-
fessed all the while to know nothing about the country
or the murder. Leaving Burton and Mosalli with the
Bedouin to look after the ropes at the top, Colonel
Warren and I were next lowered to the bottom of the
gully, which was here forty-seven feet deep, and from ten
to twenty feet wide,, with precipitous sides. Below, we
found the remains of our unfortunate countrymen — a skull,
jaw-bone, numerous ribs and broken bones, much gnawed
by wild beasts ; a truss of a very small man, supposed to
be Professor Palmer ; two socks marked W. Gr. (W. Gill),
with the feet still in them ; and parts of socks and drawers
marked H. C. and H. Charrington : also a pair of duck-
trousers, with buttons marked with the name of a Bombay
tailor ; these latter were in such a condition that we
burnt them. The bones were much scattered over the
bed of the gully, where were pools of water and clumps
of reeds ; and on the ledge, and on the side of the gully,
there were traces of blood, showing that one or more of
the party must have been killed or wounded above.
Never could a better place have been chosen for the
concealment of the tragedy : after the first rain all trace of
it would have been washed away from the gully beneath,
and even on the sides, and above on the ledge, where the
marks of the blood were, the rocks would have been
washed clean, for there was here the bed of a little torrent
that, after rain, courses down the side of the ravine and
traverses the ledge from the above-mentioned cave to
the gully.

The remains of the bodies were carefully collected

CHAP, vi.] Our Work Simplified. 119

and placed in a case, provided for the purpose, for removal
to England ; and after sketching the gully we were drawn
up again, and started off on the return- journey to camp,
where we arrived at sunset and found all correct.

Little had we thought a week hefore to arrive at so
rapid a solution of the mystery of Palmer's disappearance ;
and now with our sad burden before us, journeying on that
last journey, which was finally to deposit it in the crypt of
St. Paul's Cathedral— from the " Desert of the Wander-
ings " to the heart of Great Babylon — we could not but
feel that our task was in part accomplished, and the
question — " What now ? " — recurred with force. Ketribu-
tion was now the only end at which our efforts could aim.
The circumstances of the crime must be unravelled, the
assassins brought to book, and innocent blood be avenged.
The Bedouin themselves, now that fanaticism was quenched
by the triumph of our armies and the restoration of the
Khedive's Grovemment, hated and bemoaned the detestable
action of their tribesmen ; and, recognising the equity of
the law — life for life — looked on with dread, but in a
spirit of fatalistic expectancy, at the successive steps of an
inquiry that was to close only with the exaction of the
death-penalty.

Colonel Warren determined to march next day for
Nackl, as it was inadvisable to remain long camped where
we were. Once in the fort of Nackl, with Hassan Effendi
installed as Governor, we should be in a secure position for
prosecuting further research, and a formidable obstacle to
the pacification of the desert would be removed.

During the night we were somewhat apprehensive of
attack. Sualem's party had not returned, and might have
got into difficulties on their mission ; thus our fighting
strength being reduced by about half its number, consider-

120 Precautions against 21 readier//. [CHAP. vi.

able inducement existed if the Bedouin were at all inclined
to attack us. Each night we gathered our trunks and
cases of stores around our sleeping-place, converting it into
a little fort ; and with the token of the results of surren-
der hard by, in the shape of the remains of Palmer and
his companions, we might have made that little enclosure
an unpleasant place to come near with any hostile intention.
During our wanderings on this expedition the Bedouin
constantly regaled us with their expectations of attack
from the tribes of the desert, and we never neglected to
take the utmost precaution we could to render ourselves
secure against being rushed. Every night a belt of
ground round our sleeping-place was cleared of obstacles,
and we lay down side by side, with our rifles under our
blankets, and revolvers, loaded in the last three chambers,
fastened to our wrists. Our constant activity in the
day-time precluded any attempt on our part to keep
sentry-go at night, as we had done while in standing-camp
at Tor ; but we soon became extraordinary light sleepers,
and I have oftentimes been awake at night looking up into
the star-bespangled sky overhead, and noticed that not a
camel could grunt or shift his position near us, or, indeed,
not a movement take place anywhere in the camp, without
" our Chief," who appeared to be sleeping hard, and was to
all practical purposes, at once lifting his head and fixing the
cause of the disturbance. Our precautions were, however,
never destined to be tested by any overt attempt at
treachery or violence, but we never shall know to what ex-
tent they succeeded in protecting us from sharing the fate
of Palmer and his companions. Certainly we could not
reckon on our escort ; except for the faithful service of
Musa Nusier and half-a-dozen of his camel-drivers, we
had nothing but ourselves to depend on, and until Colonel

CHAP vi.] The Desert of the Tih. 121

Warren was thoroughly known, and had obtained the
position of complete dominance over the desert Bedouin
which he subsequently attained to, our position necessarily
involved some risk.

Next morning Colonel Warren gave the order to strike
camp and start for Nackl. The sheiks protested, but he
was obdurate, and we started. The morning was, however,
very misty, and after proceeding a little distance Colonel-
Warren called a halt and sent for the recalcitrant sheiks.
They hotly urged the foolishness of moving on to Nackl
without Sualem and his party. We might arrive there,
they said, and find the tribes gathered, under the Governor
of Nackl, to oppose us ; and, cut off from the water, we
should be in a very perilous position. Most of the
Haiwatat had gone with Sualem on his raid, and the
other tribesmen left with us objected to go on without the
Haiwatat, who as a tribe were largely mixed up in the
massacre — urging that they might by going on come to
hostilities with the desert Bedouin, while the Haiwatfit,
on whom, if on anyone, the brunt of the wrhole matter
should fall, would escape. Words ran very high, but
under the influence of coffee and cigarettes, and our sneers
and laughter, the sheiks were finally made to understand
that, like it or not, Sualem or no Sualem, they would start
after mid-day. So camp was again formed.

Early in the afternoon we loaded up and started again,
winding up the slight depression, which was all that was
left of Wadi Sadr, as it debouched on to the central
plain. Passing the Calaat i Jeudi, a solitary limestone
mountain in shape like the frustum of a cone, after
several hours' march, we found ourselves on the Desert of
the Tih. The effect as one reaches this flat expanse is
very remarkable. Instead of the varied rugosity of the

122 Failure of Commissariat. [CHAP. vi.

scenery to which our eyes had become accustomed, with its
stern scarps and boulder-strewn water-courses, here an
apparently level plain, covered with sun-blackened stones,
stretched before us as far as the eye could see, and rising
therefrom into the dazzling sky were the dim outlines of
the mountain-peaks of Jebels Yeleg, Ihkrim, and Bodia.
North of us were the mountains of Rahah, through which
the Hadj route from Suez to Nackl passes ; and to meet
this route, where it debouches on to the plain, we now
bent our course to the northward. Proceeding thus we
crossed a number of shallow depressions, in which were
dotted bushes of tamarisk and scrub : here we put up
several hares, which were instantly chased by a crowd of
Bedouin armed with guns and sticks and stones. Though
the Bedouin are exceptionally fleet of foot, the hares
generally got the best of them ; but it was interesting to
see the usually stoical Arabs entering into the excitement
of the chase with all the exuberance of joy which, under
similar circumstances, might be displayed by an English
school-boy.

That night, after we had formed camp, the sheiks came
to complain of the rations which had been provided for
them by the Government. The Governor of Suez, seizing
the opportunity to get rid of his old stock of provisions at
the expense of the " pigs " —under which generic term he
classed all the Bedouin of our escort — had sent with us a
quantity of mouldy biscuit as rations for the men. The
sheiks, having exhausted their private stock of flour, were
reduced to sharing this biscuit with the men, and came up
holding in their hands samples of the green cake full of
maggots, complaining that their stomachs were full of
worms. Colonel Warren at once examined the samples,
and choosing the least repulsive piece, munched it with

CHAP, vi.] A too zealous Sentry. 123

self-evident gratification at its excellent flavour and
appetizing qualities. The sheiks being nonplussed at this,
the affair was soon turned into a joke, and they retired in
excellent humour, seeing nothing for it but to make the
best of things.

We had still no news of Sualem's party, and the
Bedouin were now thoroughly alarmed, and throughout
the night kept up a very efficient guard round the camp.
This resulted in a somewhat amusing incident. One of
our number being little inclined to sleep, straying some-
what away from the camp in the moonlight, was suddenly
approached by one of the Bedoui sentries, who, bringing
his Remington rifle to the shoulder, presented the muzzle
at our friend, at the same time shouting some challenge in
Arabic. The victim of this display of vigilance grasping
the situation, but being somewhat deficient in his use of
Arabic, cried out at once, " Damn you ! Don't be a fool !
Don't shoot ! " However, the Bedoui remained motion-
less, with finger to trigger, the moon plainly revealing the
precision of aim of the shining weapon. The situation
was an uncomfortable one, and our companion, racking his
vocabulary, succeeded in producing the pregnant sentence
" Ana Inglize " —in pigeon Arabic, " Me Englishman "
and to his infinite relief our guard lowered his rifle with
the ejaculation " Wahad Kawadja."

On the 26th we continued our journey across the Tih,
and halting in the middle of the day were overtaken by
six Terebin of Sualem's party. They brought the news
that Sualem had returned to our camp at Tusset Sadr, and,
his men being somewhat fatigued, was resting there,
intending to catch us up to-morrow. They gave us a
graphic account of the dangers they had run in their
mission. They had proceeded to the water to which we

124 Sualems Exploits. [CHAP. vi.

had sent them, and there they had found some Bedouin,
who had agreed to take them to the Arab camps in the
hills. On their way there they fell into an ambush laid for
them in a defile, and the hostile Bedouin opening fire upon
them from the heights on either side. Sualem at once
drew off his men as well as he could, but not before one
man was wounded in the wrist by a slug.

Such was the tale they told. But we were somewhat
sceptical as to its credibility, although next day, on the
arrival of the main body, the wounded man was produced,
and became urgent that we should cut out the slug from
the fleshy part of the wrist, where it was embedded.
However, whatever games Sualem had been playing, we
had been successful in our own part of the work, having
visited the scene of Palmer's death, and obtained, without
incurring any opposition, evidence which was of the
greatest importance ; thus, whether Sualem had been in
earnest or not, he had probably attracted some attention
from our party, which was what Colonel Warren most
desired when despatching him on his errand.

On the night of the 26th we camped six miles from
Nackl, it being undesirable to approach nearer till Sualem's
party should have arrived to re-enforce us. Our camels had
done very well, and were still quite comfortable, as, owing
to the thick mists that we had experienced on the Till, the
bushes and herbage were every morning bathed in
moisture, and the animals got all the water they required
while grazing.

CHAPTER VII.

ARRIVAL AT NACKL. SUBMISSION OF THE GOVERNOR. THE COM-
PLICITY OF ALI EFFENDI IN THE ATTACK ON PALMER.
DEPARTURE FROM NACKL. THE MARCH ACROSS THE DESERT.
ESCAPE OF METIER SOFIA. DISASTROUS MARCH. I FALL
ILL OF FEVER. ARRIVAL AT ISMAILIA. SURRENDER OF
METTER SOFIA. His EVIDENCE. EESTITUTION OF ,£1000 OF
GOVERNMENT MONEY. OUR ENTRY INTO THE DESERT NOT IN
VAIN.

EARLY on the morning of October 27th we started for the
Fort of Nackl, intending to arrive before it about nine
o'clock, so as to have all the day before us for whatever
action might be necessary. The Governor, Ali Effendi,
had always been represented to us as a staunch adherent
of Arabi ; and we had evidence in the letter to his colleague,
the Governor of Akabah, and in his messages to Miisa
Nusier, that he had espoused the popular cause with
considerable vigour. He had some fifty soldiers in garri-
son, and the fort commanded the water, which he could
thus prevent our using if he chose. The trump-card in
our hand was the possession of the year's supplies, which
were already considerably overdue. The soldiers, who are
mostly permanencies at these desert forts, have little in
common with the Governor and his immediate subordinates,
who are changed periodically in the routine of the Govern-
ment service. Thus with the prospect before them of
either delaying the arrival of their rations or losing them

126 We Siylit NacM. [CHAP. vn.

altogether, it was hardly probable that we should be
seriously resisted in inarching on the fort, particularly as
we had with us a new Governor, to whom the soldiers
would in future have to look for countenance and chance
of promotion. There was, however, the possibility that
the Governor, who had hitherto very cavalierly resisted all
our efforts at communication with him, and had been very
closely connected with the capture of Palmer's party, even
if he did not actually superintend the arrangements which
led to their massacre — the possibility that he might make
a stubborn defence in the hope of obtaining possession of
our persons, or, at any rate, making terms for himself ;
and to aid him in this action he might have obtained the
assistance of those tribes whose men were implicated in the
murder, in which case little dependence could be placed on
our escort.

We soon came in sight of Nackl lying in the centre of
a wide depression, the Wadi el Arish, the Torrens Egyptii,
and Biblical " brook of Egypt." The fort, about four
miles off, could hardly be distinguished, except for the
deep shadows it cast, and a dark tuft of green made by
some trees rising from the interior court ; but as we
descended the side of the depression and got nearer, we
could see all bustle and activity in its vicinity. Colonel
Warren called a halt to allow the long line of camels to
close up, during which we were joined by Sualem Abu
Farag and his party, a reinforcement which doubled our
fighting- strength. Proceeding onwards till about one and
a half miles from the fort, we perceived some skirmishers
in the scrub in front of us, and Colonel Warren halted the
column and sent two men forward to say we were come in
peace. One of these, Abu Sarhan, the deaf old sheik of
the Terebin, was allowed to pass on to the fort, his

CHAP. VII.]

A Doubt/til Reception.

127

companion being sent back with the message that if
anyone else advanced, the big gun in the fort would be
fired, a contingency from which terrible results might be
expected to ensue. After waiting a considerable time, a
party of men were seen approaching, which turned out to
be a subordinate official under a guard of four soldiers
with fixed bayonets ; they came requesting that Hassan
Effendi, the new Governor that we had brought from Suez,
should go at once alone to the fort. This, however, did
not suit Colonel Warren, who told Hassan Effendi to write
a letter to the ex-Governor, ordering him to send out
at once the wakil, the boulttk-bashi, and all the principal
officers to receive him and their new Commander.
Colonel Warren also sent word that if the garrison gave
him any trouble and did not open their gates at once, he
would send their food back to Suez ; and if they attempted
to stop that, he would put it all in a heap and burn it.
The letter and messenger
were duly despatched,
and we waited some time
longer until the latter
(one of the fort guards)
returned to say he had
lost his letter on the way
to the fort ; but never-
theless, letter or no letter,
the officials were coming
out to see us, and they
shortly after arrived.
After having a few pro-
clamations read to them

they were introduced to Hassan Effendi, whom they all
rapturously embraced ; and after the customary coffee and

ALI EFFENDI, GOVERNOR OF NACKL.

The Governor of Nackl. [CHAP. vn.

cigarettes, we all proceeded to the fort, the soldiers going
ahead of us firing a fcu-de-joie, the bullets of which
whistled close over our heads, while the big gun boomed
out a salute in our honour. As \ve alighted from our
camels at the entrance of the fort, Ali Effendi came
forward to receive us. He was a plain, honest-looking
man with bright eyes, very superior to the ordinary sallow -
looking Egyptian official. He had been a captain in the

l— w

THE FORT OP NACKL.

Artillery, and there was little of the fanatic about his
appearance. He apologised for the show of resistance that
he had made, saying he had known nothing of the
restoration of His Gracious Master the Khedive until
our arrival, and thus was merely safeguarding his command
at the approach of so formidable a column as ours : he
now begged us to enter the fort and take possession of
the guest-chamber.

The fort of Nackl is a square, stone-built structure,
with a central yard, and towers at the four corners. The
gateway is defended by a machicoulis -gallery, and this,
which is the best part of the building, served as an
armoury and guard-room. The remaining apartments were

CHAP. VII.]

The Fort. 129

stuffy little places, with mere slits in the masonry for
windows, and with mud-floors. The soldiers of the fort
were fine men. Their ancestors had been Mograbites ;
but, intermarrying with the Bedouin, they had assimilated
to these latter in dress and appearance, though of still
a distinctly fairer type. They were armed with old match-
locks, and thus would have stood little chance against our
men, armed as they were with the Remington rifles which
Arabi's troops had flung away at Tel el Kebir. We
visited the guest-chamber, but found the ceilings in rather
a dilapidated state, so were glad to refuse the offer of
accommodation and return to our tent, which we had
pitched some distance from the fort.

We took the evidence of the wakil and Ali Effendi the
same evening. The former we found ready to paint his
late chief in the blackest of hues ; but Ali had been too
cunning to give his subordinate much handle against him,
and we found out that the 'wakil had been reported for
peculation in his duties as commissary at the fort, and
there was thus reason for his rancour.

Ali Effendi gave his account of Palmer's end and his
part therein. It appears that two days before Palmer left
Ayun Miisa, on his return- journey into the desert, the
Grovernor of Nackl left the fort with two soldiers, and
travelled in the direction of Suez — as he said — for the
purpose of taking leave, a rather unlikely proceeding in
the middle of a war. Next evening he arrived at Metter
Sofia's tents, near Tusset Sadr, where he learnt that
Metter had gone to Suez. The occupation of Suez by the
British, which had occurred five days before, must have
been well known at Wadi Sadr ; and it is pretty certain
that Ali ascertained the reasons of Metter's absence. The
Grovernor stopped at Metter's tents the nights of the 8th

K

130 All Effendis Evidence. [CHAP. vn.

and 9th of August, and on the 10th went to Aid's (Metter's
blind brother) tents at Rahah, not five miles from where
Palmer was captured. He arrived at 5 p.m., and stayed
there the night of the 10th, when Palmer was taken
prisoner.

There were several camps of Bedouin at Eahah at this
time, grouped close together round their mazeira (corn
grounds), and it was somewhat doubtful in which the
Governor stayed. But he probably visited several, and all
the Bedouin must have been well aware of his presence in
the vicinity. After sunset, Ali Shwair, a spy, came up the
pass from Wadi Sadr to Eahah, announcing the approach
of Palmer's party. The Bedouin immediately assembled
and rushed helter-skelter down from their tents to the spot
where the ambush was laid, and Palmer was captured
about midnight.

The Governor maintained that he knew nothing of all
this ; but early next morning, according to his own
account, he started off for Marbook, a water on the way
for Suez. It is surmised that this move was occasioned by
the escape of Salami Ibn Aid, Metter's nephew, with the
money Palmer had with him, some three thousand pounds
in gold, and the probability that he would endeavour to
reach his father's tents at Rahah by making the circuit
via Marbook ; but Ali said that he set out for the purpose
of reaching Suez and going on leave, although war was
in progress and Suez in the hands of his enemies. Ali
arrived at Marbook about 5 p.m., and there, according
to his statement, first heard of Palmer's entry into the
desert under Metter's guidance, bound for Nackl ; he
accordingly started off next morning for Metter's tents
in the hope of conducting the English gentlemen to f/ieir
destination. Arriving at Eahah at 11 p.m. on the 12th,

CHAP, vii.] Complicity of Governor. 131

he found Metter, who told him the details of the attack
and of his subsequent ineffectual efforts to save the
party, &c. The Governor admitted taking no steps to
bring the murder home to the offenders, although
Metter gave him the names of several of those who had
participated in the outrage ; and he remained at Metter' s
tents over Sunday, the 13th, until the following morning.
On the Monday he started to return to Nackl, taking with
him one of Palmer's camels, which he kept some six weeks,
until after the collapse of Arabi Pasha and the end of the
war.

The circumstances of this man's presence so close to
the theatre where the murderous proceedings against our
countrymen were enacted, was very suspicious. As to his
asserted move to Marbook — assuming that it was not a
pure fabrication — it is certain that Metter Sofia had
reached his tents at Rahah before the Governor left,
and the news of the attack upon the party must have
reached his ears. It would then be strange indeed if Ali
Effendi, the figure-head in this part of the desert of
Arabi's fanatical rising, had started off at such a time
except for a very strong reason — such as a desire to avoid
responsibility for the murder which he knew was to
follow, or the determination to obtain possession of the
money which Salami Ibn Aid had carried off. It may
here be mentioned that while Metter subsequently dis-
covered and restored to us Palmer's black bag, inside of
which was a bag containing one thousand pounds in gold,
there should have been two other bags in addition
containing a like amount each, which bags may possibly
represent the share of the Governor of Nackl and other
principals in the crime.

It is evident that there could have been no general

K 2

132 The Missing Gold. [CHAP. vn.

distribution of the missing sovereigns amongst the attack-
ing Bedouin, or we could not have failed to hear of it ; for
whereas the effects of the murdered men were traced to
many places far and wide from the place of attack, no
evidence ever pointed to the Bedouin being in possession
of an inordinate amount of British coin. It is also difficult
to understand why Metter should have only restored one
third of the gold if he had been in possession of the whole
sum. Hence we are led to the conclusion that the money
was divided amongst the principal people interested, Metter
receiving one thousand pounds as his share, the remaining
two thousand pounds going to the other principals—
possibly Sheik Misleh of the Tiyahah, Shedid, and the
Governor of Nackl.

However, notwithstanding the suspicious circumstance
accompanying the visit of Ali Effendi to Wadi Sadr, we
were unable, throughout the inquiry, to inculpate him
directly in Palmer's capture and massacre. He must have
bound the Bedouin over with the terrors of officialdom to
absolute secrecy as to his part in the business. Once only
we got a side-light into the matter. Metter Sofia was
being examined on the gathering of the Bedouin to attack
Palmer, and said : " Government won't allow me to say
who it was that arranged the attack. I do not know
who it was." It is difficult for us in England to under-
stand how men could possibly be brought to shield a
principal in a crime for which they themselves were
inculpated ; especially when by his position as a Govern-
ment-official that principal would have been mainly
responsible for what occurred, and thus the culpability of
his subordinates be diminished by the very fact of his
incrimination. These Bedouin of the desert, however,
had had a long experience of misrule in the injustice and

CHAP. viL] Despatch of Search-parties. 133

absolute recklessness with which they had been treated by
the successive Governments. They had no one to fight
their battles for them. No public opinion bore on their
treatment. They were too poor ever to hope to be able
to curry favour with any high Egyptian official. They
recognised no difference between the Governments of
Egypt prior and subsequent to Arabi's rebellion ; and
there was, indeed, little on the surface to show any
difference. They had no notion that English dominance
in Egypt meant that justice would be dealt out to them ;
but doubtless had cause enough to infer that to speak
against an official, even against an Arabist, would be
resented by every other official with whom they unfortu-
nately might have to do, greatly to the detriment of
their people.

From the information we were now in possession of, it
was clear that only two tribes, the Haiwatat and Terebin,
were as tribes implicated in the attack on Palmer's party,
and it was decided that the detachments of these tribes
that we had with us in our escort — the Haiwatat under
Sualem Abu Farag, and the Terebin under their old sheik,
Sarhan — should proceed to visit their own tribes, and
endeavour to arrest certain men whose names we had now
ascertained to be implicated. The head-man of the
Haiwatat to be captured was Salem Sheyk, and Sualem
expected to find him near Marbook. The head-man of the
Terebin was Hassan Ibn Mershed; but this tribe being
partly in Syria it was very difficult to deal with them, and
it was proposed that Abu Sarhan should proceed to Gaza
and deliver a letter to the Turkish Governor there, who
was an old friend of Colonel Warren, in order to obtain
his assistance in the matter. It had been ascertained that
Palmer's guide, Metter Sofia, was at Gatie, which lies west

134 The Vendetta. [CHAP, vn

of El Kantara ; and it was arranged that the Haiwatat
should first go there, and on their way visit Sheik Misleh
of the Tiyahah, Palmer's friend, at Jebel Magara. Eations
were accordingly issued, and next day, the 28th, they
started off ; Colonel Warren intending to leave on the
following morning with the remainder of the expedition
on another journey unbeknown to these two parties.

In sending these men away to search for the guilty
ones of their respective tribes, now that they were
thoroughly embued with the serious character of their
missions, we were only following the custom of the
country ; and the plan appeared to give reasonable hope of
accomplishing the object before us. With our whole
company composed of miscellaneous tribes, prompt action
as a detective -force was impossible. For instance, when
we chanced on Ibn Mershed at the water of Abu
Eigem, if, in the chase he had been killed by our men,
there would have been established a feud between the
men of our various tribes and Ibn Mershed's tribe, the
Terebin. The law of the blood -feud is rigidly enforced
by the Bedouin, and is the foundation of all law and secu-
rity amongst them. Naturally self-interest is their only
consideration, and they wrill commit any crime or take any
man's life without scruple so long as they can do so
without risk to themselves. But the scourge of the blood-
feud stands over them with its awful consequences and
paralyses the wildest. Beginning perhaps in a family-
quarrel it may, after decimating the families concerned,
involve whole tribes in conflicts where hundreds of lives
are lost ; and indeed when once started it is impossible to
say how long, or to what extent, the feud will be carried.
To the individual also whose blood is required, the
impending doom must be particularly terrible. One of our

CHAP, vii.] Departure for Gatie. 135

prisoners, Salami Owardi of the Tiyahah tribe, had once
killed the murderer of his brother, in expiation of his crime.
But the matter did not cease here. The avenger had had
to flee his tribe, and live as a renegade in the Eahah
mountains ; with no wife, no home, his life was further
embittered by ever present knowledge that he might be
caught unawares at any moment and his life taken like
any dog's.

Before leaving Nackl Colonel Warren arranged for
sending the ex-Governor of Nackl into Suez with the
camels that had brought out the supplies for the fort ; and
sent orders that his effects were to be rigorously searched
before reaching Suez, so as to discover if he carried with
him any property of Palmer's party. The remains of the
bodies of our unfortunate countrymen were left in the
charge of our friend Hassan Effendi, as also were the
Bedouin we had captured in Wadi Sadr; and on the
morning of the 29th we started on our journey.

Colonel Warren intended to march to Gatie, about one
hundred and fifty miles to the north-east of Nackl, and
where Metter Sofia was reputed to be ; for it was desirable
to secure his arrest, and also to see how far Sualem Abu
Farag carried out his orders on his independent expedition.
Colonel Warren wished afterwards to visit El Arish, and
put matters on a proper footing with the new Governor,
who might have opportunities of aiding us in our search.
Our party was now reduced to about one hundred men of
the Nofiat, Maasi, Ayeidi, and Bili tribes, and Musa
ISTusier. We travelled very lightly, so as to push forward
with all available speed before the news of our approach
could precede us. The Ayeidi tribe had been living some
years before in the very country we were now to pass
through, but had been driven out by the Terebin ; arid

136 A Forced March. [CHAP.VH..

we had one of the Ayeidi, named Abghouenem, as our
guide. Abghouenem, was a fine devil-may-care man, and
though no sheik, was looked up to by all the Bedouin.
Mohammed Hassan, Sheik of the Nofiat, was put in charge
of the Bedouin.

The 29th we spent crossing the monotonous flat of the
Tih Plateau, and did thirty -two miles. The heat was
excessive, and much to my disgust, I — having for some
days previous been generally out-of- sorts, with a cold
arising from an indiscreet hot bath taken in the open one
evening at Nackl — suffered considerably from the effects of
the sun. We followed a bee-line across the plateau, which
admitted the passage of our camels in almost any direction ;
and steered for the gap in the mountains to the west of
Jebel Feli. There being a good moon, we travelled most
of the following night ; and as the day dawned we witnessed
a very fine sight, as the massive forms of the Jebels Yeleg
and Feli became illuminated by the warming colours of
the rising sun. On the 30th we passed a piece of culti-
vated ground belonging, it was said, to Metter Sofia ; and
here we could detect an old road crossing our path,
seemingly made for wheeled transport, and totally unlike
the camel-tracts which intersect the desert. By the
evening of the 30th we had covered seventy-one miles
from Nackl, just reaching the edge of the sands, which
spread northwards to the Mediterranean in an ever-shifting
series of ridge and furrow.

At the end of the second day's journey, we found the
camels of our escorts were considerably distressed for want
of water. It turned out that they had been watered the
day before we left Nackl, and consequently would not
drink on the day we left — these camels having been accus-
tomed only to water every three days. They had thus

CHAP, vii.] Jf-wape of Metier Sofia. 137

been their full time, and though they had been travel-
ling hard two days, we had thirty odd miles to go
before reaching the vicinity of water. Our own animals
were all right, Miisa Nusier having looked after them
properly, but the Egyptian Bedouin, who, from their
residence in Egypt, where water is more abundant, had
entirely misconceived the journey they were embarking on,
placed us in a position of great difficulty. However, there
was nothing for it but to push on, and trust to reaching
the water before the animals were entirely incapacitated.

On October 30th Colonel Warren was ahead of the
column shortly after sunrise, and had mounted the top of
a hill with the plane-table we used to survey the route
with, when he saw before him in the valley on ahead a
small party of Bedouin coming our way. When they saw
him they stopped, and he at once sent forward some of our
Bedouin to surround and capture the strangers. As soon as
they saw our men approaching them they made off across
country as fast as they could. However, they could not
go very fast as there were four men to two camels only ;
and although our Bedouin's camels were tired, and in a
somewhat distressed condition, the men would never have
been allowed to escape had not our Arabs behaved in the
most lax, half-hearted manner. Some of our men got close
enough to hail them, and one even to recognise amongst
the fugitives the person of Metter Sofia, the very man we
were going to Gatie to arrest ; but the fugitives threaten-
ing to fire on their pursuers, these latter were rapidly left
behind, and the men soon passed over a rise of ground
which hid them from our view. We had been watching
the pursuit from the high ground where the men had first
been seen from, never dreaming that our men could come
back without the fugitives, until it was too late to

138 Water-supply Fails. [OHAP. VIL

intervene. When our escort returned it was with some-
what down cast looks, and the Colonel addressing the
sheiks told them that after this last exhibition he could
only look upon them as Fellahm, not Bedouin. Only one
man had behaved well, and he, a Syrian servant of
Mohammed Hassan, had been on ahead at the time the
strangers were sighted. He had got close to the fugitives
and endeavoured to stop them, but they had twice fired at
him, and he relinquished the attempt, seeing there was no
one to back him up. The Colonel now called up this man
and commended him, giving him two pounds in recognition
of his plucky conduct. We made a cast for the back-tracks
of the fugitives, and found they came direct from Jebel
Magara, whither Sualem Abu Farag had gone ; and it is
possible that hearing preparations were being made for his
capture, Metter had resolved to give himself up, and he
was even now (as he said afterwards in evidence) on his
way to Suez for that purpose. If this was the case, why
he resisted our attempt to capture him is difficult to say.
This fruitless pursuit had wasted considerable time, and at
noon we had only done eight miles out of the thirty that
lay before us.

The water carried on the camels was now finished,
except for our own casks, which had still a fair amount in
them, and during the afternoon, as we wound our weary
way over the ever-recurring sand-dunes, the men suffered
much from thirst. Some of the camels fell out and were
obliged to be left behind ; and the owners, loath to leave
them, in some cases stayed behind also. As the column
moved slowly along, the cry of " Mowyah, mowyah "
(water, water) could be heard from front to rear. We
gave all the assistance we could from our bottles, but these
were quite inadequate to supply so many thirsty mouths ;

CHAP, vii.] The Niylit March. 139

and at sunset when we halted we had only covered
twenty-five and a half miles. On inspecting our water
barrels, which held enough at starting for six days' use,
we found that they were empty all but a little muddy
fluid at the bottom of them ; the rest had been stolen by
the Bedouin, and we had only enough now for a little tea,
and to fill our flasks with what remained. We were still
a considerable distance from the spot where Abghouenem
said the water was, and the Bedouin were all much
excited at our prospect of getting in before the sun rose,
as otherwise it would be impossible for the majority of the
exhausted animals to go further through the sweltering
heat of another day, and they would have to be abandoned
to their fate. Many of the men were clamorous against
our guide, but as we were entirely in his hands, and
without any other remedy depended on his knowledge to
find the water before us, there was little use in clamouring
against him.

Shortly after midnight when the moon rose, we
continued our journey. Many of the camels that had
been now four days without water, refused to get up and
move on, and had to be left behind. It was piteous to
see the condition of some of the men, their mouths
parched and their voices hoarse from the dryness of their
throats. Wearily the column toiled over the soft sand,
with the gaunt figure of Abghouenem, our guide, standing
out before us in the bright moonlight. To us Englishmen
there seemed to be nothing in the constantly recurring
sand-dunes to guide our leader to the water he was in
search of. Our little column was sadly attenuated from
the number of men and camels that had dropped out of
their places. Our own animals were doing fairly well, but
were beginning to stumble, and we realised that we had

140 The Water of MaJiada. [CHAP. vn.

but little time left in which to reach the water we were in
search of. As the coming dawn shed a glimmer in the
east, about 4.50 a.m., we arrived at some larger hills com-
pared to what we had hitherto been crossing over, and
Abghouenem said that these were the hills of Mahada,
and the water must be close by. A halt was called while
our guide went off to look for the well, and men and
animals lay down in the sand to fall asleep with fatigue.
After some twenty-five minutes, Abghouenem's welcome
voice was heard coming through the cool morning air,
announcing that he had found the water. Immediately
the column was alive again, and soon stampeding across
the soft sand in the direction of his voice. Down a steep
slope plunged men and animals, driving before them
avalanches of sand, eager to get first to the water ; and
reaching the well, they thronged around it in a tumultuous
crowd.

The well was a wide one and the water too deep
to be easily got at ; but across from side to side were
beams for the drawers to stand upon, and a service was
soon organized for passing up the water. To the weird
refrain of a Bedoui song, the work was quickly in full
swing. It was an impressive sight to see the eager
animals and Bedouin crowding round the well, lighted up
by the dim light of the breaking day. A stone -trough at
the side of the well was soon supplied with water, and the
camels here drank to repletion, whilst their owners emptied
cup after cup of the precious fluid. Several of the camels
drank too much and died from the effects, and among
those latter was Mohammed Hassan's favourite riding
camel.

Colonel Warren now arranged for the despatch of men
with water to relieve those (some fifteen) who had dropped

CHAP. vii. j Sickness in tlie Camp. 141

out along the road ; but it was only with great difficulty
he could get this done, and then only in a most leisurely
manner. The sheiks could not understand this solici-
tude for men who had been left behind on the road ;
Mohammed Hassan thought much more of the loss of his
favourite camel than if all the men of his tribe had been
left dying in the desert. After all the animals had been
watered, news came that there was a better water some
two miles ahead ; so the order was given to shift camp, as
the well we were at gave only a poor supply. We arrived
at the new water about 8.30 a.m., put up our tent and
had breakfast. Round the water the sand-hills rose to a
height of three hundred or four hundred feet, forming a
regular sun-trap, where as the day advanced the heat
became intense. Here I rapidly developed the symptoms
of a severe attack of sunstroke. The previous afternoon,
while on the march, I had shown signs of being affected
in my head by the sun, but during the cool of the night
had been all right ; I now became delirious, and rapidly
reached a critical condition.

Colonel Warren took up the view that a live donkey is
of more importance than a dead lion, and considered it
desirable to take steps to put me on my legs again, even at
the cost of abandoning for a time the work he was engaged
on ; but it was difficult to know what to do. We had travelled
one hundred and ten miles in three days, and the camels
were now exhausted and full of water, so that they needed
a rest before resuming the march. We had been unable to
carry our survey on in a regular manner during our late
march, and although some twenty or thirty miles east of
Lake Timsah — whence we could get to Ismailia — our guide
could not guarantee to take us there. To continue our
journey to Gatie, and thence to El Kantara, would be about

142 Sedoui Good-fellowship. [CHAP. vn.

fifty miles ; but as this seemed the only outlet, Colonel
Warren determined to follow it, carrying me on in a
stretcher, though with little hope of saving my life
through so long a march. About midnight the delirium
ceased, and, through the opportune capture of a Haiwatat
who knew the road to Ismailia, a way was opened, and
arrangements were immediately made for starting, in the
hope of reaching Ismailia before the heat of next day set
in. A litter was constructed, and Colonel Warren called
on the Bedouin to provide bearers. With the exception of
the Bili tribe, they all cheerfully assented, and at 2 a.m.
a start was made, the Bedouin trotting over the soft
sand with the litter at about four and a half miles an hour.
After a halt of an hoar's duration at sunrise, the march was
resumed, and the Canal reached at 10 a.m. The men
had behaved splendidly in carrying me, fresh men always
being at hand to relieve the tired bearers, and the greatest
willingness and good-fellowship being displayed by all.
At the end of the journey Colonel Warren offered the men
five pounds for their trouble, but the sheiks refused to
accept any recompense.

Here were a number of men who but yesterday had
shown themselves so disaffected or cowardly as to be un-
able to take four men prisoners when ordered to do so, and
now to-day displaying all goodwill and exerting themselves
to save the life of a Frank, in the fate of whom they
might be expected to have little or no sympathy — and this
while their exertions were taking them further from those
of their comrades who had fallen out during the march and
were left to an unknown fate in the desert ; as well as to
the imminent risk of their own animals, which were not
yet recovered from the effects of their forced march.
The two actions are difficult to reconcile. It is probable

CHAP, vii.] Arrival at Ismailia. 143

that the misconduct was due to terror of the blood-feud,
and unwillingness to risk creating one merely for the sake
of the Government — a Government that was synonymous
with oppression and injustice. For the rest the Bedoui
is, notwithstanding his savagery, a gentleman at heart,
fully cognizant of all the virtues, and eager to display
them where they will not be misunderstood.

Arrived at the Suez Canal we suffered different treat-
ment from men of lighter skin. The Canal-authorities,
although Colonel Warren offered them ten pounds and
explained the urgency of the case, refused to put us across
the Canal. Passing ships were asked to drop a boat for
this purpose but laughed the matter to scorn. Fortunately
the heat of the last few days suddenly abated, the sky
became overcast, and we had our first shower of rain. I
had recovered from the prostration of the day previous,
and having slept all night in my stretcher, was able on
reaching the Canal to walk a little. But the fever still
recurred in hot and cold fits, and it was desirable to get
me into Ismailia at once. At 2.30 a boat arrived from
Ismailia, and in an hour or so I was stowed away in bed
in the Hotel des Bains. Surgeon-Major Flood came and
examined me, and reported rather seriously as to my
condition, my temperature being very high.

Colonel Warren with characteristic contempt for the
expedient, gave up everything else for the next five days to
nursing me through my fever till I was convalescent, and
it is undoubtedly to his kind attention that I owe my life.
During this time the work of the Search-Expedition
rather hung fire, but Burton went to Suez and carried on
as best he could. The keeper of the Hotel des Bains was
a Frenchman, and the tone of the place was aggres-
sively French, and at that time bitterly hostile to the

144 Surrender of Metier Sofia. [CHAP. vn.

English ; thus the presence of a bed- sick Englishman up
stairs was a nuisance little to be borne with, and Colonel
Warren could often only get what nourishment I required
by visiting the kitchen and making it himself. As an
instance of this ill-will — -I remember, while lying in bed
recovering from my illness, listening to two ladies who
were practising for a concert that they were giving in the
town in a few days. Everything was arranged, and they
expected a good house, as a large proportion of the seats
were taken up, when it transpired that the artistes were
English, upon which the tickets were returned, and the
entertainment had to be abandoned.

Before leaving Ismailia Colonel Warren dismissed
Mohammed Hassan, and the Nile Bedouin that had
returned from Nackl with us, to their homes. They were
utterly unsuited for the task before us ; and it was now
necessary to dispense with their services and make other
arrangements on a new plan. Mohammed Hassan in-
vited us to visit him at that " elysium abode," his home at
Zagazig, and we parted in mutual goodwill.

On November 6th Metteh Sofia surrendered himself
at Suez. He said that he had been on his way from Jebel
Magara, accompanied by his nephew — Salami Ibn Aid, who
ran away with Palmer's gold — when we met them in the
desert and endeavoured to capture them ; and he was
probably so impressed with the steps taken to clear up
Palmer's fate, and capture those implicated, that he
thought it best to give himself up. Under cross-examina-
tion Metter proved shifty and circumlocutory ; while he
habitually worked himself up into such an excited state
that it was difficult to clear his facts from the mass of
verbiage in which they were wound. His evidence, how-
ever, was of the greatest importance. The successful

CHAP, vii.] Important Evidence. 145

accomplishment of their journey from Jebel Magara to
Suez during the war had evidently given Palmer great
confidence in Metter. He described the arrangements for
the return -journey, and how he, having no idea of being
molested, was, at the time of the attack, taking Palmer
and his companions to his own tents at Bahah. On the
attack he and his nephew made off, leaving the English-
men to their fate ; the nephew taking with him Palmer's
camel with the money, three thousand pounds in gold.
Metter fled by a circuitous route to his tents, and returned
to the place of attack with a few friends ; when he offered
money in an ineffectual, half-hearted manner, to save the
Englishmen's lives. His evidence confirmed that of the
ex-Governor of Nackl as to the movements of the latter ;
but he stated that Ali Effendi had told the Bedouin at
Rahah that they must capture the Christians and send
them prisoners to Arabi. Metter Sofia gave a list of
twenty-five people — Haiwatat and Terebin — who were in
the attack on the party, and from him we first got a clear
idea of the employment of Ali Shwair as spy on Palmer's
movements (see Appendix B). His evidence was, however,
so shifty that Colonel Warren determined to go out to the
desert and test it, by visiting a spot in Wadi el Hadj,
about forty miles from Suez, where Metter said* he had
concealed a bag and box of Professor Palmer's.

In the evening of November 7th Sualem Abu Farag,
with the Haiwatat we had despatched from Nackl, arrived
at Suez, bringing as prisoner Salem Sheyk, who had taken
a prominent part in the murder of Palmer's party, and two
Dubur from Bahah, which latter were able to give some
evidence. Next morning Salem Sheyk was confronted
with Metter Sofia, but the latter immediately got into
such a passion that Salem had to be removed from the

146

Salem Sheyk.

[CHAP. VII.

)

SALEM SHETK, ONE OF THE MURDERERS.

room. Salem Sheyk refused to know anything of what
had occurred, and, when questions were put to him, did little
but shake his head and intimate that his mind was a blank
on the subject : Mr. Gill and Mr. Charrington, brothers

of the murdered men,
had arrived at Suez, and
it was arranged that Mr.
Grill, who was in per-
sonal appearance very
like his poor brother,
should enter the room
during the examination
of Salem Sheyk. Salem
remained, however, im-
movable, without appear-
ing to recognise the
likeness to the man he

had murdered, and the manoeuvre failed to effect any-
thing.

On November 9th Colonel Warren and Lieutenant
Burton left Suez again for the desert. Miisa Nusier with
his Towara camel-drivers conducted them, and they were
accompanied by Sualem Abu Farag and nine men of
the Haiwatat tribe. They also took with them Metter
Sofia, Mr. Charrington, and Mr. Houndle — a friend of
Captain Grill's. The day following their departure the
party arrived in the vicinity of the spot in Wadi el Hadj,
where Palmer's property was supposed to be hidden.
Here Metter Sofia, who was much agitated, asked whether
there was a tarfak tree about. On arriving near one he
dismounted, and walked up the rock-strewn slope which
here bounded the road. At a certain point he stopped,
and clearing away some loose stones, exposed a crevice in

CHAP, vii.] Restoration of Money. 147

the rock, in which was a small leather-case, containing a
despatch-box and a black bag. These were taken out by
Colonel Warren, who, pressing the spring of the black bag,
opened it, and exposed the contents to view ; upon which
Metter Sofia made as though he did not know how it
could be opened, and went through a pantomime in trying
to open it, playing with the bag as though he were a
monkey. In the black bag was found a bag of gold, with
the label Euri/alns* a cigar-case, clothes-brush, comb, two
pairs of scissors, two sketching water-tins, blue spectacles,
various cartridges, and two pairs of dividers. The
sovereigns in the bag were counted by Colonel Warren,
Lieutenant Burton, Mr. Houndle, and Mr. Charrington,
and found to number one thousand. The money-bag did
not appear to have been opened.

It was known that Palmer took with him into the
desert three thousand pounds in gold ; and as between
the time of his leaving Suez and being captured there was
no reason for his having disposed of any of it, the question
now arose what had become of the remaining two thousand
pounds. As it might be in the despatch -box it was
proposed to break it open and see. Both Mr. Houndle
and Mr. Charrington agreed that if it had belonged to
their relations they would have approved of its being
forced, so the box was opened ; but the missing money
bags were not found inside. There was, however, a small
bag with one hundred and sixty-four pounds ten shillings
in English gold, fifteen Turkish liras, fifty-five pounds in
English notes, and an I 0 U for one hundred pounds.
In the box were also various letters, and a rough journal
of Palmer's journey from England to Suez.

* Admiral Sir William Hewett's flag-ship.
L 2

148 The Missinff £2000. [CHAP. vn.

What happened to the two thousand pounds was never
ascertained. From the frequent reference, in the evidence
of the Bedouin, to a sum of twenty-one pounds which was
taken from Palmer's cook, it was certain that if a large sum
of gold had heen secured by the attacking party the excite-
ment about it could not have been restrained, but we
should have heard about it : besides, all accounts pointed
to the fact that it was to a great extent due to the dis-
appointment of the Bedouin at losing Palmer's gold — for
Palmer had taken no trouble to conceal the fact that he
carried with him a large sum — that led them to murder
their prisoners. The black bag was very easy to open,
and it is impossible that anyone possessing it for a
considerable time, and wishing to do so, could have
failed to open it. It was well known amongst the
Bedouin who captured Palmer, that Metter's nephew had
run off with the money ; and in such circumstances it is
difficult to believe that the Governor of Nackl would
have allowed Metter to keep it all for himself. He would
have insisted on the money, or a portion of it, being
handed over to him for Arabi's use, or given to one of
Shedid's emissaries for transmission to his master direct.
If the matter had not been settled in some such way the
Bedouin would not have acquiesced so readily in losing the
money themselves.

It was thus apparent that Metter Sofia had in some
manner made away with two thousand pounds, and he was
pressed to say what he had done with it. He denied all
knowledge of it, saying his nephew had taken the bag
away at the time of the attack, and he himself had not
seen it again until a few days before on his journey
from Jebel Magara to Suez to give himself up. Even
if his personal responsibility for the money were waived,

CHAP, vii.] Arrangements for pursuing Search. 149

still Metter must have well known what had happened
to it ; and, as he persistently lied in this respect, the
court-martial, which finally disposed of the case, was
right in confiscating his family's property. It is in
such a case, when dealing with a hardened old scoundrel
like Metter, that our modern refined methods fail.
Doubtless if a little torture had been applied, such as a
Turkish Governor delights in — a little delicate manipulation
of the kourbash — the mystery would have been solved,
and we should have been able to point to another couple
of thousand pounds restored to the Government as one of
the results of our inquiry.

On the llth Colonel Warren returned to Suez. Ar-
rangements had now to be made for the furtherance of the
work in hand. On dismissing the Nile Bedouin whom we
took with us to Ismailia, Colonel Warren had requested
that additional parties of the Haiwatat and Terebin should
be despatched from Cairo to assist in capturing the persons
required of those tribes. Colonel Warren, now that there
was no doubt of the composition of the party that attacked
Palmer, decided that the proper people to bring in the
persons wanted were the authorities of the particular tribes
concerned ; that upon them must fall in future the burden
of the search. In a review that appeared in a home-news-
paper at the time, it was said that we " now abandoned our
fruitless search, and placed it in the hands of more suitable
agents." This was hardly an accurate way of putting it.
Our search had not been fruitless. If we had not gone
into the desert the remains of Palmer's party would never
have been recovered, and the circunstances of the attack
would never have been known with certainty ; for the
confliction of testimony which we received from the various
witnesses was only cleared away by help of the circum-

150 Laboriow Examination. [CHAP. vn.

stantial knowledge we had gained in our examination of
the ground. By his journey into the desert Colonel
Warren had become possessed of information which enabled
him to formulate a definite series of charges against
certain persons ; and the seriousness of our mission had
been impressed upon our unwilling emissaries, with the
result that we had now possession of — Metter Sofia —
all but two of the camel-drivers who accompanied Palmer on
his ill-fated journey — Salem Sheyk, one of the principals in
the attack — and several hostages for other persons impli-
cated in the attack and murder.

By our close contact with the Bedouin they had been
made to understand that not one stone should be left un-
turned until the culprits in the crime were brought to
justice; and justice and the Government had hitherto been
to them two utterly irreconcilable conceptions. The
Bedouin viewed with amazement the precision with which
Colonel Warren achieved success after success in his inquiry.
Entirely unacquainted with his methods of weighing the
evidence of all who had anything to say about the matter ;
of piecing together, and extracting the true from the
false by minute and continual comparisons of one man's
evidence with another — they could only attribute to a species
of second-sight his intimate acquaintance with events and
places which they imagined we had no clear conception of.
They one and all, even to the honest Musa Nusier, en-
deavoured to tell us only what they thought we knew; and
this position, adopted by a people as apt of tongue as the
Arabs, required all the patience and acumen of a practised
cross-examiner to turn to advantage. Of the many barren
days that we spent eliciting nothing — or, what appeared
at the time to be nothing — from our unwilling informants,
this account can give no conception ; for it only attempts

CHAP, vii.] Recording Scribe on the Hack. 151

to record the successive steps which marked the progress
of our inquiry. But behind were days upon days of
patient, pitiless examination and cross-examination — during
which, if the unfortunate witness was not literally put
upon the rack, the unfortunate scribe — and I can speak
feelingly on the subject — who recorded the evidence was
punished to a degree that left the rack nowhere in
comparison.

CHAPTEE VIII.

GOVERNMENT OF THE BEDOUIN. THE SHEDIDS. PALMER ON HIS
JOURNEY FROM SYRIA TO SUEZ. STUDIED OBSTRUCTION OF
THE SHEDIDS. THE FATAL MISSION. PALMER'S ATTITUDE
TOWARDS THE BEDOUIN. ARRIVAL OF SALAMI IBN SHEDID.
THE CONTRACT. COLONEL WARREN MOVES TO NACKL.
EXAMINATION OF PRISONERS THERE. METTER SOFIA'S PART
IN PALMER'S DEATH. SHEIK MISLEH, PALMER'S " FRIEND."
SULEIMAN THE TIYAHAH. EXPEDITION INTO THE TIYAHAH
TERRITORY. A BEDOUI ENCAMPMENT. ASCENT OF HILL AT
SHWEIKI'S ENCAMPMENT. CAPTAIN SIR RICHARD BURTON.

IT has always been a difficulty, for the government
under which they are placed, to impose the ordinary con-
ditions of the governed upon the Bedouin. Living in the
desert, entry into which without their assistance is, from
lack of water, well nigh impossible — living in the simplest
fashion, with nothing but their flocks to arouse the cupidity
of officialdom — requiring nothing from the State in the way
of protection or service of any sort, but only wishing to be
left alone to their barren flats and mountains — these people
are able to escape most of the responsibilities of citizens.
The Egyptian Government certainly taxed them to the tune
of so many loads of charcoal per tribe, a tax which, as the
Bedouin were obliged every year to come into the towns to
purchase their annual supply of coffee and sugar, it was
able to enforce. For the remaining purposes of govern-
ment, such as keeping open the country for the Mecca

CHAP. viiL] Government of Bedouin. 153

pilgrims and for travellers, maintenance of order, protection
of telegraph-line, keeping ready the tribes for purposes of
war, &c., the government was dependent on bringing
pressure to bear on the sheiks. Where the local sheiks
were far from any official centre, and in the pathless desert,
where whole tribes could, as it were, on occasion disappear
into the ground, it was often impossible to bring the
necessary pressure to bear upon them ; thus to preserve
responsibility and make government possible, arrange-
ments were made for the wealthiest and most influential
family of the Bedouin to be located at Cairo within reach
of the central authority, and held there as hostages, the
head of this family was de facto Viceroy of the desert.

At the time of the Palmer Search-Expedition the family
of Shedids held this position at Cairo. They belonged to
the Haiwatat tribe — the most powerful of the Bedoui tribes
of Lower Egypt — and the head of their family had been
head-sheik of the Bedouin for many years. Salami Shedid
was the head of the family, his father Ibrahim having died
during Arabi's rebellion, and during the war he had
assisted Arabi with contingents of Bedouin, the Haiwatat
tribe alone providing two thousand men. When Colonel
Warren was in Cairo at the end of September he endeavoured
to get Shedid sent to him for the purposes of our Search-
Expedition ; but at the time of the re-establishment of the
Khedivial authority he was too essential a character to be
dispensed with by the central Government ; so we had been
obliged to be satisfied with Saad, a younger brother, Hadj
Mohammed, and several minor members of the family.

The Shedids, although not in any way personally
responsible for Palmer's murder, as far as we could
ascertain, were, from the first, hot obstructionists of our
search. They apparently resented any interference in the

154 Cairo and the Desert. [CHAP. vm.

desert, which they regarded as their private preserve, and
feared their names being connected with the attack on
Palmer, and the subsequent tragedy.

It appears that on Palmer's first entry into the desert
from. Syria, in July, he proceeded to the tents of the
Tiyahah, a tribe which he had formerly travelled amongst,
and with whose sheik, Misleh, and his brother Suleiman,
he was personally acquainted. Suleiman was at the time
at Cairo, doubtless summoned there by Shedid ; but Misleh
received Palmer hospitably, and Palmer, in pursuance of
his plan to enlist the sympathies of the Bedouin on behalf
of the Khedive, promised Misleh five hundred pounds
should he engage the services of the Tiyahah tribe on the
Khedive's behalf. Palmer made a good many presents, or
promises of presents, while in the desert, and became quite
persuaded that the Bedouin would hold themselves at his
disposal. It is probable, however, that while Misleh
received Palmer's overtures, he reported the matter to his
brother at Cairo ; and thus the news reached the Shedids,
who, afraid for their heads if their people were stirred into
open enmity to Arabi, thereupon sent messages which
resulted, on Palmer's return to the desert, in his being
taken prisoner and placed out of harm's way. Fanaticism,
however it may affect the Bedouin as a class, has little
influence on the leading sheiks, and possibly Shedid, and
Misleh also, looked for an opportunity of making money out
of Palmer, as well as keeping in with Arabi by making the
Englishmen prisoners. But amongst the common Bedouin
of Arabia fanaticism is a great power, and under its
influence the shedding of blood is as readily resorted to
now as when Mohammed and his followers propagated
their religious tenets by force of arms. Palmer met Misleh
on July 18th. On the 24th the news of his mission might

CHAP, viii.] Attitude of the Shed ids. 155

have reached Cairo, and instructions might have been sent
to the desert, arriving at Nackl about August 2nd. On the
7th the Governor of Nackl left for Wadi Sadr. The
Bedouin, possibly exceeding their instructions, killed
Palmer and his companions, and then afterwards the
Shedid sent positive instructions that in future such
Christians were to be made prisoners and sent to Arabi,
not killed. This is upheld by the letter of the Governor
of Nackl to his colleague of Akabah, vide p. 85, in
which we find the following passage : — " When he learned
that the Christians whom I spoke of were killed, Abu
Shedid informed his Bedouin in writing that if they saw
any Christians they should take them prisoners, and send
them to Cairo."

In ordinary times Shedid would have been held respon-
sible, whatever occurred in the desert, in accordance with
the established methods of Eastern government ; and
Shedid doubtless expected that in applying for him we
meant to treat him similarly, and that as we became
acquainted with his position he would be squeezed in the
ordinary method current in the East. It was, therefore,
only to be expected that they would protect themselves by
endeavouring to throw the blame elsewhere, and on the
first arrival of the Shedids at Suez they attempted to put
all responsibility for the outrage upon the shoulders of the
Aligat, the section of Towara from which Palmer had
obtained his camel-drivers. This was defeated, however,
by the arrival of Musa Nusier, and the surrender of the
camel-drivers, who were able to clear themselves and
inculpate the Haiwatat and Terebins of Wadi Sadr.
The next object of the Shedids appears to have been to
involve the whole matter in mystery, but at the same time
to provide scape-goats in case such should be necessary ;

150 Absolute Authority of S/teiks. [CHAP. vm.

and in the latter respect Sualem Abu Farag, who repre-
sented Shedid in the country east of the Canal, soon felt
he was on dangerous ground. Hadj Mohammed, in fact,
before our departure for the desert (Saad Shedid was left
hostage at Suez), arranged that Farag' s child should be
put in custody and held hostage for his return and good
behaviour, on the ground that he could not vouch for his
conduct, so closely was he (Farag) mixed up in the matter.
On our first expedition to the desert Hadj Mohammed
let us pass within two miles of the place of murder without
taking us to the spot, although he must have been aware
of the whole of the details of the attack and murder, and
knew that Colonel Warren was still uncertain of the death
of our countrymen. The absolutely paramount position
that the Bedoui sheiks hold over their tribes precludes all
possibility of their people acting in studied opposition to
their known will, or concealing their doings from them ;
and although this position of paramountcy has, as its
natural corollary, the obligation upon the sheik to do his
best to protect his people, the fact remains that while
Hadj Mohammed was pretending to aid us in the search,
he was so acting that, except for Colonel Warren's per=-
sonal investigations, we should have gained no informa-
tion on the matter of our inquiry. Hadj Mohammed
also on two occasions allowed important prisoners that
had been handed over to him to escape ; and although
he brought in as prisoner and surrendered to us Salem
Sheyk, against whom, as a head-man in the attack,
we had evidence, the behaviour of this man under cross-
examination showed that he had been elaborately taught
what to say, and we could get nothing out of him for a
long time.

On November 12th, Colonel Warren took the

CHAP. vin. j Warnings received ly Palmer. 157

Shedids before the Governor of Suez, and brought their
conduct to the attention of his Excellency ; the result of
which was that Saad Shedid was put in prison, and appli-
cation made to Cairo for the immediate despatch of the
great sheik, Salami Shedid, to take charge of our search
parties. Next day some excitement was occasioned by the
sudden absconding of Sualem Abu Farag and three of the
Haiwatat ; and we found that Hadj Mohammed had
allowed Sualem's son, who had been placed in the Shedid's
custody as hostage for his father's good conduct, to ride
away some days before, and had not reported it. Hadj
Mohammed tried to make out that this was the result of
putting Saad in prison, and said that if he was not released
the Haiwatat would all make their escape, on which he was
told that if Sualem was not brought back in an hour he
himself would be made prisoner.

The Shedid, although daily expected from Cairo, was
not to put in an appearance till some ten days later.
The interval was occupied in a laborious re-examination of
all the witnesses we had collected, and in making a minute
account of the conduct of Palmer's last journey, even to
such particulars as the loading of the various camels. It
appeared that during his progress from Ayun Mitsa
Palmer had met with considerable opposition, both in the
unwillingness of the Bedouin to go with him at all, and in
the hostile measures taken to delay his journey. It is an
•extraordinary testimony to the strength of his will, and his
confidence in himself and in the Bedouin, that he perse-
vered in the face of these warnings not to pursue his
course. The sheik of the country around Ayun Milsa
(Ode Ismaili) had refused to conduct him, pleading that
the country was too unsafe since the Bedouin had been
incited by Arabi against Christians. Metter Sofia, his

158 Treachery. [CHAP, vm

guide, had only brought his own camel and one other, and,
having only two of his own people with him, was powerless
to safe-conduct the party. Great difficulty had been expe-
rienced in hiring the camel-drivers, the risk to all con-
cerned being distinctly recognised. After the start from
Ayun Musa fresh opposition of the camel-drivers was
experienced, and, the morning after the party started, when
they were encamped at Wadi Kahalin, two of the baggage-
camels were found to be missing. The animals were
tracked, and after a long pursuit taken from some
Bedouin who had visited Palmer's camp the night
before, slept there, and had stolen the camels in the early
morning ; and, as forcibly illustrating the exceptional nature
of the times, notwithstanding their theft nothing was done
to the thieves. Palmer was not to be deterred from pro-
ceeding on his mission, but was induced by Metter Sofia,
his guide, to go on quickly with him and his nephew, in
order to reach his tents at Eahah, leaving the baggage to
follow in a more leisurely fashion.

The progress of the travellers had from the time of
their leaving Ayun Musa been regularly spied upon by a
Haiwatat named Salem Ibn SiYbheh ; and messengers had
been despatched by him to warn the Bedouin at Marbook
and Rahah of the approach of the Christians. It is
reported that Ibn Subheh had several angry conversations
with Metter Sofia, but what the upshot of them might be
it is impossible to say for certain ; probably the object was
to persuade Metter to betray the travellers, and deliver up
the money Palmer had with him. Certain it is that
Subheh arranged for the stealing of Palmer's camels, and
the delay which ensued enabled him to assemble his men
in time for the attack : it is also apparent that the conduct
of Metter, in dividing the party and travelling by night,

CHAP, viii.] Palmer's Attitude to the Arabs. 150

was the very thing to serve the purpose of the attack, and
seems to have been expected by the attacking- party and
nicely calculated for. The prompt action of Metter Sofia
in escaping with his nephew, without any attempt to
protect the Christians for whose safety he was responsible,
can also only be accounted for on the ground that this
action had been previously contemplated by him, and was
arranged for. In the early days of the inquiry there were
ominous bazaar rumours to the effect that Metter's nephew,
on the attack, had struck Palmer from the camel he was
riding and which carried the money, and subsequently
made off with it. The throwing of Palmer from his camel
was not, however, confirmed by the evidence adduced before
us, although the latter part of the story, the riding off with
the money, was admitted, but explained by being attributed
to Palmer's request.

In reviewing the sad incidents of this eventful mission
of Palmer's, one cannot but come to the conclusion that he
was throughout completely over-reached by the wily
Bedouin, in whom he reposed a confidence that they were
very far from deserving. Mr. Walter Besant faithfully
depicts Palmer's attitude towards the Bedouin as
follows : — " Palmer among his Arabs spoke as one of
them, and thought as one of them, not as a stranger.
His was that strange sympathy which enables its possessor
to feel with as well as for his friends. His extraordinary
gift of sympathy was connected with his mesmeric power ;
he was a thought reader. To know what a man is think-
ing about goes a long way towards acquiring an influence
over that man. Another thing, again, gave him a power
over all sorts and conditions of men — he possessed in a
wonderful degree the enthusiasm of humanity ....
He relied therefore in undertaking .... this expe-

160 The Arab a Practised Dissembler. [CHAI-. vm.

dition .... entirely on his power of managing the
people .... This self-reliance one must point out
strongly and insist upon, because it illustrates the character
of the man, was complete and absolute. He never doubted
himself. It was not in boastfulness, but as a mere
matter of plain fact, that he regarded himself as able to
manage any number of Arabs, friendly or hostile."

In my opinion, it was this very attitude of absolute
self-confidence that compassed the ruin of this erudite man
of letters and his companions. The courage and calmness
displayed by Palmer — the quiet scholar and man of books
—were remarkable, his fixity of purpose worthy of all
praise ; but I cannot but think that he misconceived the
conditions of the problem before him, and in mere matters
of fact was often and entirely deceived. His exaggerated
notions of the number of Bedouin that he could command
for the protection of the Canal may be instanced in this
particular, and are specially extraordinary in the face of
his knowledge of the country, the poverty of its natural
resources, and the paucity of its waters. The Bedoui is
a practised dissembler, an actor of no small power, intent
on the glorification of his people ; and he will talk of
a company of two dozen men as a great, great number, and
lift up his hands in amazement at the recollection.
Highly imaginative as they are, these men were all
persuaded that Arabi was a match for any number of
Ohristians, as they themselves were a match in astuteness
for any individual Frank. As Mr. Besant describes,
they doubtless thought : — " Why did the great Abdullah
ride across from Gaza by night ? Why should he fear the
Egyptians ? He will make all rich ; Courage, brothers !
the good time long-dreamed of by the Beni Ishmael has
come at last." In respect also to his guide, Metter

CHAP, viii.] The Fatal Mistake. 161

Abu Sofia, Palmer was induced to believe that he was a
great sheik of the Lehewat, whereas in reality he was
merely a wealthy Arab living apart from his tribe. In
these and many other similar points Palmer was absolutely
deceived.

It is sickening to consider the successive steps
towards its end of this valuable life ; inspiriting and to be
admired the courage and constancy of purpose displayed
by this noble-spirited man, who could conceive little in
humanity to dread, and refused to regard the tendency of
mankind towards double-dealing and villainy.

When he entered the desert from Gaza, Palmer was
careful to avoid any semblance of official status. He
travelled alone, with his cook and Bedoui guide ; and as
he says in one of his published letters : — " I have had to
dodge troops and Arabs, and am thankful, but somewhat
surprised, at the possession of a whole skin." When
Palmer returned to the desert a few days after this, his
policy is reversed. He sends notice of his coming, and
convenes a meeting of sheiks in the heart of the desert,
and, strange to say, at the fort of Nackl, which was held
by one of Arabi's adherents. He takes with him a naval
officer to demonstrate to the sheiks his authority from the
British Government ; and carried with him a large sum of
money and some naval swords — which latter he meant to
present to the sheiks. The one absolutely necessary
sequel to this change of front was the provision of a
strong escort, and Palmer, in his summons to Metter,
asked him to bring twenty armed men with him. Metter
Sofia arrived on the 7th August with only one man instead
of twenty ; and then, I think, Palmer made a fatal
mistake in persisting in carrying out his original intention
of reaching Nackl on the 12th, escort or no escort.

M

162 Arrival of Salami 8/iedid. [CHAP. vra.

After waiting ten days for him, the great sheik,
Salami Ibn Shedid, reported to us at Suez on November
22nd, under instructions from the Government to place
himself entirely at Colonel Warren's disposal. He pro-
fessed to be quite ignorant of the facts connected with
Professor Palmer's disappearance, and insisted that he was
not sheik of the Haiwatat of the desert, but that
Mohammed Feyere, who lives east of Akabah, was ruler
of the country about Wadi Sadr. To refute those
statements, our Haiwatat prisoners from Wadi Sadr were
produced ; and they declared before Salami that the
Shedids of Cairo were their only sheiks, that Sualem Abu
Farag ruled them by deputy, and that Mohammed Feyere
was to them but a name. Having at last acknowledged
that he was sheik of the Haiwatat about Wadi Sadr,
Salami Shedid asked for the names of the people implicated,
and the details of the murder. This Colonel Warren
refused "to give him, and told him he could obtain the
information for himself from his own people. He pro-
tested he could not do this, but must send to Cairo for the
particulars, which were known to the Bedouin there. He
was told, however, to examine Salem Sheyk and two other
men of his tribe who had been brought in by Sualem Abu
Farag ; and this he did in our presence, after a great deal
of expostulation, obtaining a general outline of the attack
and murder of the party, as we already knew it,, and the
names of the principal culprits.

Salami was a much more accomplished obstructionist
than his brother Saad or Hadj Mohammed, and Colonel
Warren had a difficult task in dealing with him. However,
by dint of continual hammering, he was reduced to a proper
condition of subordination ; and Colonel Warren determined
that he should give proof of his good intention by exerting

CHAP, vm.] Confession of Salem Skeyk. 163

his power as sheik upon Salem Sheyk, a man of his
tribe who had shown great stubbornness in cross-examina-
tion, and pretended to know nothing of the matters of
which he was known to be a prominent actor. The Shedid
was accordingly informed he must make this man speak
out, and give his account as an eye-witness of the attack
and murder. After considerable pressure, Salami acceded to
Colonel Warren's importunity, with the result that Salem
Sheyk made a complete confession, thus exemplifying to
the full the enormous power a Bedoui sheik possesses
over his people. The account confirmed those we had
previously obtained, except for the part played by two
brothers of Salem Sheyk and a few other Haiwatat.

Salami Shedid having thus put himself in possession of
the necessary facts, and being furnished by us with a
complete list of persons implicated, and the witnesses
required in evidence (some sixty in number), Colonel
Warren told him he must write out and sign an agreement
to bring in all the culprits in a given time. Here was
opportunity for prolonged dialogue which would go on
somewhat as follows : —

Salami Shedid. — Ah ! Impossible. I shall be killed if
I venture into the desert for such a purpose.

Colonel Warren. — You must bring in all the persons I
require in twenty-one days, or I shall report you as one
of the persons implicated. There is plenty of proof
against you.

Salami SUedid. — I am undone. I am undone. It
cannot be done in twenty-one days. Two months is the
very least time.

Colonel Warren. — You don't intend to do it. What
have you done since you came here ? Nothing !

Salami Shedid. — I will die for the Government. But I

M 2

164

Shedid' s Contract.

[CHAP. VIII.

must get some men from Cairo to take with me into the
desert.

Colonel Warren. — Do you mean deliberately to refuse to
get these men ?

Salami Shedid. — By my father's heard, I am undone, I
am undone.

This sort of thing went on for some days, hut on the
25th Salami signed a contract binding himself to bring in
all the men required in thirty-one days, sending in a batch
at the end of each ten days to show he was in earnest.
His proposed mode of action was to possess himself of
the waters of the desert, to which the Bedouin must in
ordinary times come to water their flocks, and draw water
for their own use. For this purpose he required a
large number of men, and after signing the contract he
at once proceeded to Cairo to obtain more Haiwatat.

Shedid was to be
assisted in the work by
Abu SarhAn of the Tere-
bin and his men. These
latter had been unsuc-
cessful in the quest that
we had despatched them
upon from Nackl. They
had visited most of the
Terebin sheiks, but all

had refused their assist -

•

ance. The Terebin were
a very difficult tribe to
deal with ; living as they
did on the borders of

Syria and Egypt, they could avoid the jurisdiction of
either government by quietly stepping over the border ;

SHEIK ABU SITTJSH.

CHAP, viii.] Binding over the Sheiks. 165

and, being a very powerful tribe, able to put into the
field several thousand men, they were rather out of
Government control. Sheik Abu Sarhan and Abu Sitteh,
another Terebin sheik, for some days refused to bind
themselves to assist Shedid in getting in the men of their
own tribe that we required ; but, finally, on December
18th, Colonel Warren secured their adhesion to Shedid's
agreement, and they started with their men for the
desert.

This disposed of the greater number of the persons
whom we required as implicated in, or as witnesses of, the
murder ; but there were some other tribes that had also to
be worked. The Towara were made to produce the two
remaining camel -drivers who had started with Palmer's
party, and had not yet given themselves up, and these
arrived at the end of November. Sheik Aleyan of the
Lehewat made himself responsible for the family of Metter
Sofia, and Salami Ibn Aid, Metter's nephew, who had
run away with Palmer's camel and his money on the
evening of the attack, was produced on December Oth, and
certain of the sons afterwards. Sheik Misleh, Palmer's
friend, and sheik of the Tiyahah, had also to produce two
men ; and arrangements were also made with Mohammed
Gad of the Alawin, and with Sheik Makbul, for general
assistance in preventing the escape of the culprits into
Arabia Felix.

All these matters required some time to bring them to
perfection ; but as Shedid had stipulated that the desert
should not be entered by other than his search-parties
during his thirty days, we had plenty of time for them.
During this month Shedid's operations were much impeded
by the unusually heavy rains which fell in the desert, but
on December 25th Colonel Warren was able to report the

166

Proceed to Nackl.

[CHAP. VIII.

capture of nine out of the twenty-one persons implicated
and a number of witnesses were also secured.

Shedid having placed two of his most important
prisoners in the care of the Governor of Nackl, Colonel
Warren determined to go there and conduct his examina-
tion for a while at that place ; hoping also to induce a
little more activity in the search-parties by his presence
in the desert. Accordingly, leaving Suez on December 20th,
accompanied by Captain Stephenson of H.M.S. Carijsfort
and Messrs. Burney, Chappie, and Sir C. Cust, officers of
that ship, we arrived at Nackl on the 22nd. Here we
found three of the men who actually murdered Palmer
and his companions — Salem Abu Telhaideh, Salami Abu
Telhaideh, and Ali Shwair — with several other Bedouin
who were present at, and assisted in, the attack. The cross-
examination of these
men continued for
some days, and was
of a very tedious cha-
racter. They had
all evidently deter-
mined to maintain
a dogged silence upon
the events which ac-
companied Palmer's
death, and some car-
ried the determina-
tion into an apparent
imbecility which was

palpably insincere. The two brothers Abu Telhaideh were
particularly obstinate ; as an instance we quote the fol-
lowing dialogue.

Warren. — Where do you live?

AL.I SHWAIR — ONE or THE MURDERERS.

CHAP, vnr.] An Obstinate Witness. 167

Telhaideh. — Yonder on the Tih (with a wave of the
hand all round the compass).

Colonel Warren. — Whereabouts ?

Telhaideh. — Far away ! Yonder !

Colonel Warren. — What is your name ?

Telhaideh. — Don't know. The people call me Salem.

Colonel Warren. — What was your father's name ?

Telhaideh. — Don't know.

Colonel Warren. — Did you ever have a father ?

Telhaideh. — I once had three camels.

Colonel Warren.^-Where were your camels ?

Telhaideh. — Yonder in the hills, a long way off. I have
tended them ever since I was born.

Colonel Warren. — Do you meet any Bedouin in your
country ?

Telhaideh. — No ! I go wandering about and never see
anything but camels.

Colonel Warren. — When did you last see your brother
Salami?

Telhaideh. — What brother ? I never had one.

Colonel Warren. — Do you know this man ? (Pointing to
his brother, who was here produced.)

Telhaideh. — No ! I never saw him before.

Such were the results which often were all we could
point to after some hours of examination, but Colonel
Warren persevered. Other witnesses would be brought into
the room, and details of the attack would be given in the
presence of the men who refused to give evidence ; and
gradually, as they saw the hopelessness of their position,
and the uselessness of maintaining silence about a matter
concerning which we knew what appeared to them to be
everything, their opposition would break down and they
would give their story in such hot haste that they often

168 Metiers safe-conduct a Sham. [CHAP. vm.

had to be checked so that the writing should keep pace
with the evidence.

The examination of the prisoners at the fort proceeded
slowly, and on Christmas -Day Captain Stephenson and the
officers of the Carysfort left us, and started on their return
journey to Suez.

The evidence went very badly for Metter Sofia, and
it soon became apparent that the death of Palmer was in
a great measure owing to Metter's avarice and refusal
to give up the money that his nephew had escaped with.
He may, or may not, have connived at the attack, but his
flight and his somewhat half-hearted attempt at the release
of the captives showed he placed very little store on their
safety ; and he certainly aggravated the danger to their lives
by his ill-judged, avaricious conduct. The unfortunate
trust that Palmer reposed in this man can scarcely now be
credited to a person of his experience and knowledge of
the country ; and it is evident from his journal that Metter
systematically conspired to deceive Palmer as to his status
and power.

It is probable that if Metter had been accompanied by
any one man of either of the principal tribes, Haiwatat,
Tiyahah, or Terebin, the attack would not have taken place ;
but having merely a few Towara camel-drivers with him,
men who had been warned by their sheik not to go with
Palmer, there was nothing for the lawless inhabitants of
Wadi Sadr to fear from the attack on a party which was in
no way protected by adequate authority. Finally — when
the Christians were their prisoners, and either with their
connivance (as it might have appeared to the Bedouin) or
without, Metter Sofia, the man who had made himself
responsible for their safety, refused to give up the money
which his nephew had escaped with — then the Bedouin

CHAP, viii.] Avarice of Metier Sofia. 169

decided to kill them. Even then, if Metter had been true
to his trust, and had acted up to Bedoui tradition, he
would have thrown in his lot with the Englishmen, with
a result that their lives would probably have been saved.
But, no ! He coolly retires from the scene and goes to
his tents, taking no steps to inform the authorities at
Suez of the fate which had overtaken the unfortunate
men who had trusted themselves to his care.

Some days after our taking the evidence at Nackl we
were informed that Metter Sofia had died at Suez in hospital,
whither he had been removed from the prison a few days
before. The body was examined by Dr. Hamilton of the
Xavy, and the death certified as due to natural causes.
Thus terminated the life of the principal actor in this
tragedy. The motives which impelled him in his course
are difficult to determine. In appearance he was of
commanding stature and of haughty bearing, and he
seemed to have an overweening idea of his own importance.
In his action he seems to have been chiefly actuated by
avarice and a fixed determination to possess himself of
Palmer's gold, cost what it might.

It would appear that the Bedouin who attacked
Palmer were acting under general authority from Arabi's
head-quarters. It is certain that the actors in the tragedy
had access to Metter Sofia, and probable that he knew of
the preparations for taking his party prisoner, and made
his arrangements accordingly for saving the gold ; while
his subsequent lax endeavours at ransoming the captives,
offering but thirty pounds a head for them when he had
three thousand pounds in gold in his possession, point
either, to his certainty that the captives would be sacrificed
in accordance with orders received from Cairo, or, to his
disregard for the lives entrusted to him now that he was

170 Metier s Death. [CHAP. vm.

in possession of their money. Mr. Walter Besant, in
Professor Palmer's memoir, puts it thus : " When Metter
went away at last there seems reason to believe that he
went sorrowfully, because he saw that no ransom at all
would be accepted, but that the murder was resolved upon,
and that he, who thought only to plunder the man who
had trusted him, had compassed his death. He went
away ; first he hid himself ; then he gave himself up ; but
he was torn by remorse ; he wandered in his mind ; and
presently he lay down and died." In my opinion this
passage puts the behaviour of Palmer's guide under a
somewhat favourable light. There is no evidence that he
hid himself; on the contrary, he seems rather to have
toured the country after the tragedy in which he played
so important a part, going first to Smar, then to Jidi,
thence to Gaza, back to Jidi, then to Gatie, and finally
south (when we nearly captured him) to Suez. True !
He gave himself up, but only at the last moment, when
capture was imminent ; and even then he never appeared
to realise the great breach of trust of which he had been
guilty. His sorrow was of a barren character, which could
neither lead him to save Palmer's life by the sacrifice of
the gold in his possession, nor induce him to restore the
gold to the rightful owners when subsequently this lay in
his power. The death of Metter Sofia was inconvenient
for the purposes of our inquiry ; but the " natural causes "
were probably more a question of old age than sorrow, for
he was an old man, possibly seventy years of age.

Consul Moore, of Gaza, reported on October 31st that
he had been informed by a leading Tiyahah sheik that
Metter Sofia had betrayed the party and kept most of
the plunder, and that he had been spending a quantity of
gold amongst the Sowarki Bedouin about El Arish. As

CHAP, vm.] Sheik Misleh. 171

has, however, been before stated, we were unable to trace
any extraordinary superfluity of gold among the Bedouin
after the war, although we gave this matter our special
attention. There was, however, throughout the desert a
general consensus of opinion that Metter was mainly
responsible for what had occurred, and never during the
whole course of our inquiry did we meet with any Bedoui,
connected or unconnected with the outrage, who attempted
to make excuses for him, or to interpret his conduct in
other than an unfavourable light.

A few days after the attack Metter Sofia was visited
by Suleiman, the brother of Misleh the Tiyahah sheik.
The latter had been requested by Palmer, in a telegram
sent via Gaza, to meet him at Nackl on August l:2th.
Misleh was described in official papers as of " bad repu-
tation, suspicious and brutal " ; and in his " Desert of the
Exodus," (p. 330) Palmer himself described him as " an
ill-looking, surly ruffian, his features rendered more hideous
than their wont by a scowl of mingled cunning and
distrust." But during his journey down from Gaza, Palmer
stayed with Misleh some time, and became convinced
of the latter's goodwill towards him. When Misleh's
brother arrived at Wadi Sadr and was informed of the
circumstance of Palmer's murder, he returned to the camp
of the Tiyahah to inform his sheik, who did nothing either
to avenge his " friend " or to report the matter to the
authorities ; and thus the man whom Palmer had stated
would befriend him as a brother, to whom he had promised
five hundred pounds, and under whose influence the desert
Bedouin were to take service with the Christians for
operations against Arabi, acquiesced in the treachery of
one friend and the murder of another, taking no further
trouble in the matter.

172 Suleiman the TiyahaJt. [CHAP. vm.

It may be that Misleh was in league with Metter
Sofia in his treachery, and possessed himself of part of the
money that we were unable subsequently to recover.
Misleh had first introduced Metter to Palmer, and misled
the latter by representing him as sheik of the Lehewat
tribe, which, he said, held the country to the S.E. of
Suez ; and it is quite possible that Metter's foolhardy
behaviour, in conducting Palmer on his return-journey into
the desert, was due to a plan between him and Misleh for
securing the fruition of Palmer's promises, or possessing
themselves of the money Palmer had stated he would bring
with him on his return.

On December 24th Suleiman, brother of Sheik Misleh,
came to see us at Nackl, bringing with him a Tiyahah who
had assisted in the attack, and another who lived at Metter
Sofia's tents at Rahah. Suleiman acknowledged that he
had gone down to Wadi Sadr after the murder, and heard
all the details of the tragedy ; he appeared to think he
had acted quite naturally in not sending information in to
the authorities. The reason he gave was that immediately
after the attack he had gone after a body of the Maasi,
who had made a raid into Tiyahah territory, and carried
off some sheep. This tendency to systematic conceal-
ment appears to have been pretty universal in the desert ;
doubtless they argued that the first man to give an account
of what had happened would be put in prison and kept
there, and in the then custom of the country this argument
was probably correct and conclusive.

Suleiman busied himself to assist in the capture of the
men still out, and left us on the 29th. Next day, how-
ever, a letter from Shedid arrived saying that Salem
Siibheh was in hiding at a certain camp of the Tiyahah
about thirty miles to the north of Nackl, and we started

CHAP, viii.] A Bedoui Encampment. 173

off to try and overtake Suleiman and take him to capture
Subheh. About ten miles out we arrived at a Bedoui
encampment belonging to the Tiyahah. It was a perfect
little encampment, with three tents made of the ordinary
goat-hair cloth ; and as we got there about sunset, as the
flocks were being assembled, the vicinity and the tents
themselves were alive with sheep and goats. The pure
desert air gives to the kids and lambs a great charm,
their coats remaining silky and unmatted, as if they were
washed and combed every day ; and as we sat round the
entrance to the tent, waiting at our host's invitation for a
dish of roast corn he was preparing, the little animals
thronged round us, squatting round the fire, putting their
noses into the pot, and displaying all the eccentricities of
the spoiled children of indulgent parents. We had wanted
Captain Stephenson and his officers to see a Bedoui
encampment, and inquiring of Sheik Suleiman if there
were any of his tribe about, he had replied saying there
were none within less than three days' journey ; so evi-
dently our friend was an accomplished liar like the rest.

Next day we were joined by Suleiman. He was
doggedly obstructive at first, being very unwilling that we
should go with him ; but after some trouble it was
arranged. Suleiman had conducted Palmer on his explo-
rations in the Tih in 1869, and was a man of some
presence and force of character. We visited a number
of Bedoui encampments during the day ; got a shot at
some gazelle that were feeding on the new grass at
about eight hundred yards range, and much impressed
the Bedouin as the bullets splashed up the dust at so
great a distance. We also visited a number of rude
stone-monuments in Wadi el Aggab. These nawamis
(sepulchres) did not impress us with any sense of solemnity.

174 New Year's Eve on the Tilt. [CHAP. vm.

They are mere heaps of loose stones, such as two or three
men could form in half an hour with very little exertion :
in one case the stones were arranged in the form of a
rude circle. However, whether the monumental relics of
the Amalekites, or the site of a modern Bedoui encamp-
ment, it would be difficult to say ; probably the former, as
Bedouin do not generally encamp on the top of hills, but
in shady nooks under their lea.

Under Suleiman's guidance we travelled north-west
across country, in the direction of the camp where Salem
Subheh was supposed to be in hiding. Sheik Suleiman
now professed to be glad we had come, as he suspected
Shedid of laying a trap for him by his message about Ibn
Subheh. Encamping that night at a Bedoui encampment
we had to celebrate New Year's Eve; so a kid was killed,
and the cook feasted the party after his best fashion.
During these few days the fog had been very heavy over the
Tih, not lifting at all until well towards noon, and Colonel
Warren determined to reach the camp of Shweiki, where
Subheh was supposed to be in hiding, by a forced march.
Early next morning we started, our route laying across
the dry beds of watercourses, bristling with the blades of
the fresh grass, which springs up after the rains and trans-
forms the arid desert for a few weeks into a smiling
grazing-land — across flat tracks of white clay, now smooth as
a billiard-table for hundreds of yards, and again dotted with
black flints. About noon the fog lifted, and an hour later
we surrounded the encampment of Shweiki ; but no
Subheh was to be found there, nor could the Bedouin give
us any intelligence of him.

In the afternoon we examined a hill close to Shweiki 's
encampment. Amongst the strata forming the hill we
observed some sandstone which outcrops beneath the

CHAP, viii.] Hill near Shweiki's Camp. 175

limestone of the Till ; both descriptions of strata were
inclined upwards towards the centre of the hill, such as is
generally to be seen in the formation of a volcano, but we
failed to find any evidence of eruptive rocks. From the
top we got a splendid view of Jebel Yeleg, and the
country to the north-west, and descending on the far
side we made the half -circuit of the hill and returned to
camp at sunset.*

* At the time we visited this hill we did not think much of the matter,
but in the light of the Geological Reconnaissance of this country, made in
1884 by Professor Hull, it becomes of some importance.

The surface formation of the plateau of the Tih is of two kinds, the
Nummulitic and Cretaceous Limestone, with strata to all intents and
purposes horizontal. Projecting through this homogeneous and extensive
tract Professor Hull in his map shows two blocks of older strata, apparently
the mountains of Ihkrimm and Hilall. These were not visited by Professor
Hull himself, but by the Rev. F. W. Holland, and upon the strength of his
observation these two isolated tracts of sandstone and crystalline rock, of a
much earlier geological period than the limestone, are placed as islands
arising from the surrounding sea of cretaceous formation.

Now the hill we ascended lay about N.W. and S.E., and was about seven
miles long at the foot ; the strata composing it Avere partly sandstone, and
were steeply inclined to the N.E. The following is the description of it
entered in our diary : — " The hill is detached from Yeleg The strata is
upheaved in such a manner that it has the appearance of a volcano. Two
descriptions of strata are visible all round, the inner ring at a much steeper
angle than the outer. The inner one rises to about four hundred feet. It
was a point of interest to know if this inclination of the strata extended all
round the hill, and we started to walk up it about 3 p.m. On reaching the
summit of the outer ring, the second ring was found, between which and
the first one was a considerable depression. On arrival at the top of the
inner ring it was found that the remainder of the circle of the hill (from
W. to S.E.) had disappeared, if it ever existed, and nothing but a
flat plain was visible. The party went down the north side, and saw
a good deal of sandstone and baked earth ; no appearance of granite
or trap. They passed round the west end of the hill and arrived in camp
at sunset."

It appears very probable that the group of mountains, Jebels Hilall,
Ihkrimm, Yeleg, Magara, and Feli, are all composed of rocks of a greater
age than the limestone of the Tih plateau, and from their appearance, as
viewed from a distance, they would appear to be formed, like the hill we
visited, of stratified rock, the strata of which is considerably tilted towards
the summit. From the shape of these hills it seenis highly improbable that

176 Visit to Sadr Postponed. [CHAP. vm.

Next day we started to return to Nackl. Suleiman,
after going some way, expressed a wish to leave us, so he
was presented with a sovereign and dismissed. On the
3rd we arrived at Nackl, and found that Shedid had
sent in some more prisoners, whom it was necessary to
examine.

Shedid had already much exceeded the time allowed
him in the contract, but being still in possession of the
waters of Wadi Sadr and surrounding country, and being
anxious to continue the search for ten days longer, Colonel
Warren postponed his projected visit to the scene of the
tragedy to survey the vicinity and make his final examina-
tion of the ground. It was therefore decided to go south,
to the Convent of Mount Sinai, to make some inquiries of
the monks there about the state of the desert during the
war, &c., and impress upon the Towara what we had
already done on the Bedouin of the central plateau, viz.,
that the guilty persons wn-xt be given up to be dealt
with by the Government, or the search would be
indefinitely extended to the expense and annoyance
of the tribes concerned; and the upset of the desert
generally.

The result of the six weeks' work which this chapter
aims at chronicling were important. We had now emis-

they were thrust up along faults, but were rather the effect of intrusive
masses of eruptive rock. Where this eruptive rock has disappeared to, in
the case of the hill we visited, is a question of importance ; but whatever the
explanation of these grand masses of Yeleg, Hilall, &c., it is probable that
their presence betokens some variation to the flat waste of yellow that in the
geological map covers the area of the Tih where they stand, betokening an
unvaried continuance of the level cretaceous formation.

In this connection it is interesting to note that Colonel Kitchener in
" Seir and Moab " records finding a volcanic outburst of trap rock west of
Bir el Hemmah, a place in this neighbourhood that he passed when travelling
west on a line between Jebels Magara and Yeleg.

CHAP, viii.] Sir Richard Burton. 177

saries all over the desert endeavouring to get in the people
required. The sheiks of every tribe implicated had bound
themselves over to this work, and everything appeared in a
fair way of progress ; and now that the rains were
diminishing, and the country recovering its ordinary arid
condition, greater results were to be expected from the
search-parties. Shedid, while needing constant jogging,
was apparently anxious to exhibit his power over his
people, and ensure the confirmation of his appointment in
his father's place by the new Government. And in this
respect he was the more careful to gain our goodwill,
owing to the fact that the head-men of the Bedouin,
recognising the astuteness of the elder brother, showed a
preference for young Saad as head-man, as under him they
would be likely to have an easier time than they could
expect under Salami Shedid.

During this time the Home Government, acting under
the pressure of the friends of the murdered men, had sent
out Captain Eichard Burton,* the celebrated traveller and
explorer, to assist in the Search. He had come to join us
at Suez, and, giving expression to the opinion that the
evidence, obtained by us as to the fate that had be-
fallen Palmer and his companions, was not absolutely
conclusive, he had been sent to Syria to see if it was
practicable to do anything towards a fresh search for the
missing men being made from that direction. Almost
simultaneously reports arrived from Syria — reports which
are supposed to have had their origin in Mr. Schapira,
the notorious forger of the Schapira manuscripts and
manufacturer of the Moabite pottery — that Palmer was

* Sir Eichard Burtou, K.C.M.G., who died in 1892.
N

178 Burton Returns to Trieste. [CHAP. vm.

a prisoner in the hands of the Bedouin in the vicinity
of Petra.

Captain Burton's services, however, were found to be
unnecessary, and on account of the stipulation that Shedid
had made, that he should not be interfered with in his
desert search for a month, the renowned explorer returned
to his Consulate at Trieste, and Colonel Warren was re-
duced again to his two assistants to aid him in the conduct
of the Search -Expedition.

CHAPTER IX.

START FROM NACKL. CAMEL-RIDING. THE Tin PLATEAU. THE
AMALEKITES. RAILWAY COMMUNICATION BETWEEN EGYPT AND
SYRIA. MOUNTAINS OF THE PENINSULA. SERABIT EL KHADEM.
DESTRUCTION OF TREES. BEDAN. APPROACH TO JEBEL MTJSA.
CONVENT OF MOUNT SINAI. MUSA NUSIER'S CAMP. WADI
FEIRAN. ASPECT OF THE PENINSULA. GEOLOGICAL CHANGES.
STRENGTH OF DESERT TRIBES.

WE left Nackl on January 4th for the Convent of
Mount Sinai. Our route lay over the Desert of the Tih,
which was no longer of the same flat, monotonous nature
that we had travelled over more to the north, hut inter-
sected hy depressions forming part of, or connected with,
Wadi el Arish. The ground rose gradually as we journeyed
south, and was varied by several sharp descents, the lie of
the strata being inclined gently upwards towards the south.
At one place, which we had been approaching up what
seemed to be an interminable slope, the edge of an escarp-
ment 100 feet high was suddenly reached, and before
us, much to our surprise and delight, spread out in a
glorious panorama was a great wadi, some five miles across,
and extending southwards through the haze in plane after
plane of dimly outlined detail, like an expanse of troubled
sea. Down one of the re-entering angles in this scarp the
camels wound their tortuous way, grunting and growling
at the badness of the road and the uncomfortable burdens
swaying about upon their backs.

N 2

180 Camel-riding. [CHAP. ix.

The hills of this part of the Tih, as, for instance,
Bodia and Ejimi, appear from a distance as flat-topped
elevations bounded by steep scarps, such as form the dis-
tinctive feature of much of South African scenery. They
are apparently the remnants of an earlier period, when the
country stood at a higher level, and from possessing a
slightly harder surface have escaped the general levelling
action of the rains.

By this time we had all become tolerably inured to
camel-riding, and our beasts had little to congratulate
themselves upon in any want of toughness in their masters'
hides. Camel-riding, despite the endeavours of the drome-
daries at the Zoo, and the familiarising of thousands of
Englishmen with this, as with most other things of
Eastern life, which has of necessity followed England's
intervention in Egypt — despite all this, camel -riding is
still to most Britons an uncommon proceeding, in which
novelty covers a multitude of imperfections. The swaying
motion caused by his peculiar gait — the camel in his walk
follows his off-hind by his off-fore, then near-hind and
near-fore, instead of as in a horse the off-hind being
followed by the near-fore, the near-hind by the off-fore —
is very objectionable for the first two or three days, for the
unusual motion brings into play many muscles of the body
which generally escape active duty, and the result is one
gets painfully stiff. The camel, too, is very loosely
jointed, and its legs seem entirely wanting in elasticity, so
that the flop with which he plumps down his foot accen-
tuates the swaying from side to side, and makes one all the
more uncomfortable.

The saddles are generally very lumpy, and the wooden
pommels in front and behind are responsible for many an
unwonted abrasion of the cuticle. Stirrups there were

CHAP ix.j Eccentricities of the Camel. 181

none; to grip the front pommel with the knee is of no
avail when the camel begins to trot, while to hold on to
the pommel with the hands can only be resorted to when
one has been entirely bereft, by physical pain, of all self-
respect ; so one has to plump up and down, alighting
sometimes on the middle of the saddle, which hurts,
sometimes partly on the saddle and partly on the pommel,
which hurts more, and, unfortunately, sometimes on the
pommel, which is painful to a degree.

The great advantage of camel-back is that when the
rider has got used to it, he may indulge in perfect freedom
as to how he shall sit or what he shall do. The animal
is perfectly regardless of its rider, and one may sit front-
ways, backways, or sideways, according to fancy or the
exigencies of the weather. We once did some seventy miles
across the sand looking at our beasts' tails all the while ;
for the khamsin wind was blowing from the direction we
were travelling in, and, burdened with the dry sand of the
desert, it was impossible to face it ; so, with the hoods of
our abbas drawn well over our heads, we left matters
to Providence and our camels. On camel-back one has no
trouble about reins ; but can smoke, eat, or read, as
comfortably as on the top of a coach. The rope that does
duty for a rein comes away from the animal's halter at one
side, or is hitched on to his lower jaw ; it is chiefly useful
to call the beast to attention when he requires rousing, but
may be used to drag his head round if it is necessary to
change direction. If this does not do one resorts to one's
stick, and it is indeed heavy work to apply it to the camel
to any effect, for his epidermis is impervious to all but the
heartiest cudgelling.

One bad habit the camel indulges in frequently, as he
passes through a wadi where there is any herbage, he will

182 Bedoui Salt. [CHAP. ix.

feed on the way, stretching his long neck, and snapping
at the scrub or grass on either side of his path ; thus
intensifying to a horrible degree his habitual swaying
motion. This habit breeds resistance in the rider, and one
delights to foil him in his desire by pulling at the halter
as he makes for a tender mouthful ; but it is little use, for
he can tire the strongest of arms in a tug-of-war of this
sort ; so, to avoid defeat, one fastens the halter up short to
the front pommel, and continues in fear and trembling that
the beast will trip up in his ineffectual efforts to pluck
the tempting branches of dry twigs just out of his reach,
and in tripping precipitate one over his head to the
ground.

We had as escort on this journey Musa Nusier and a
few of his men as camel-drivers. They were all in good
spirits at the idea of getting out of the winter weather on
the elevated Tih, to the low sheltered valleys of their own
country. The Tih is nominally Tiyahah country, and, on
our way south, we saw several men of that tribe, and also
some Haiwatat. At a certain point in our march the
camel-drivers commenced eagerly digging in the ground
with their hands, and produced some crystals of calcium,
which the Bedouin use for salt. The ground in the
vicinity showed signs of these crystals being constantly
found here, and it was all disturbed.

In the wadis that we crossed we frequently found
traces of sandstone, though it was not observed in situ
anywhere, limestone in fairly level beds invariably com-
posing the strata. The southern extremity of the Tih
has a level of over 3000 feet. This portion of the
plateau is visited in winter by heavy rains and mists,
which result in a more liberal sprinkling of bushes and
scrub than in the lower part of the country. Tamarisk

CHAP, ix.] A Winters Niylit on the Tik. 183

bushes grow to a good size here, and there is very fair
pasture for camels and goats. On the 6th we crossed
Wadi el Arish, and halted at the water of Nuteighineh,
which is situated in a little watercourse, a tributary of the
main wadi. The water wells out from several out -cropping
beds of limestone, which rock also forms the bed of the
valley. Below the spring the watercourse is bounded by
perpendicular cliffs, from thirty to forty feet high, and
between them, at one point, is a deep pool of water.

The temperature was exceedingly low at this time,
and snow was falling ; so we pushed on, hoping to
get off the Till before nightfall. We knew the main
escarpment could not be many miles in advance, and we
feared to be blocked up in the pass for some days if a
heavy fall of snow occurred. However, the road pursued
a very tortuous course ; and since Musa Nusier protested
that we could not possibly get down the main escarpment
at night, we pitched our camp and made the best of things
where we were. The night was spent in periodic scares,
digging trenches to lead away the water from our tent ;
for the rain fell in torrents, and, although we were
located pretty far up the sides of the pass, the torrents
which rise in these dry, barren countries, on the occasion
of heavy rains, often assume most formidable dimensions,
washing away men and herds in their course ; so we were
not sorry when morning broke, and we could proceed again.
I was much struck by the quantity of water we saw
fall over the Tih during this journey, and could not help
reverting to some remarks of Professor Palmer's, where he
states very forcibly that it is the Bedoui that makes the
desert, the term " son of the desert " being rather a
misnomer. If the Bedouin were endowed with any
agricultural tastes and capacity, Arabia Petrsea could be

184 Policy of the Rechabites. [CHAP. ix.

covered with farms supporting large numbers of cattle.
There are many parts of South Africa which do not show
to advantage compared with it ; but there the practical
energy and prevision of the Boers convert the wilderness
into a valuable pastoral country ; and, storing up the water
by means of dams, retain that inestimable gift of
Providence for use, instead of allowing it to run away and
become lost in the sea or in the sand, as do the improvident
Bedouin.

In this connection one's thoughts cannot but recur to
the commands given to his followers by Jonadab, the son
of Bechab, which are recorded in the xxxvi. chapter of
Jeremiah, where it says : — " Ye shall drink no wine,
neither ye, nor your sons, for ever ; neither shall ye build
house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyards nor have any,
but all your days ye shall live in tents ; that ye may live
many days in the land wherein ye sojourn." And the fiat
of the Lord which follows in the same chapter, viz :
" Jonadab, the son of Bechab, shall not want a man to
stand before me for ever." Certainly no policy that could
possibly be devised is more calculated to keep the Bedoui
the possessor and sole occupant of the desert than this, his
policy of desert making ; and — in our age of territorial
expansion, when every corner of ground which may
possibly form a home for the surplus population of Europe
is rapidly absorbed — this is probably the reason that
Arabia has so long remained, and is still likely to remain,
the home of the Bedoui.

If this were the country of the Amalekites, one can
well imagine how it fostered their wild and lawless habits.
An almost impenetrable block of waste, cutting off Egypt
from the East except for the trade-route along the north
shore, it was only traversed with difficulty, and with the

. ix.] Railway Communication. 185

assistance of the inhabitants. Doubtless Amalek, the
" first of the nations," used it in this respect as a source
of livelihood, as the Bedouin do in the present day in
respect to travellers and caravans ; and all who, like the
Israelites, had the temerity to force their way through,
without the permission or aid of the inhabitants, had not
only to surmount the natural perils of the waterless desert,
but, in addition, were exposed to the onslaughts of the
wild denizens of the Tih. " Eemember what Amalek did
unto thee by the way as ye came forth from Egypt, how
he met thee by the way and smote the hindmost of thee,
all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wert faint and
weary."

The question of a railway uniting Egypt and the
Holy Land has occasionally been mooted, but has not
received the attention it would appear to deserve. Possibly
this is due to the political difficulty of making the
necessary arrangements for the Syrian end of the line,
while the government of that country is vested in the
Porte. It has usually been assumed that the railway
should follow the line of the old trade-route between El
Kantara and Gaza, via Gatie, El Arish, and Kanyunis ;
and the exceptional difficulty of the shifting sands of this
district has interposed to bar due consideration of the
project. It is not apparent, however, that that route
excels others in any respect, except shortness ; and the line
across the Tih from Suez to Jerusalem would apparently
offer greater advantages. This latter route would certainly
offer greater facilities for the construction and maintenance
of the line ; for the shifting sands, except a narrow belt
near Suez, would thereby be avoided. The level Tih is
the par excellence of country for railway construction ; the
earthwork required would be remarkably slight, and, except

186 Edge of Tih Escarpment. [CHAP. ix.

for a few bridges crossing the seils, and the necessity of
importing all the sleepers required, the line would be a
very economical one to make. It is probable that the
sinking of artesian-wells on the Tih would result in the
supply of an abundance of water ; for over this great
plateau rain falls at times in great abundance, trans-
forming the dry wadis into the beds of foaming torrents,
the water of which rarely reaches the sea, but gradually
sinks into the great absorbent reservoir of limestone, of
which the plateau is composed. The service of the railway
would, with these wells an assured success, be an easy
matter ; and as the value of the district would undoubtedly
be greatly enhanced by the creation of permanent supplies
of water in its midst, the results of the line on the desert
itself could not fail to be of great importance.

It is a glorious feature of elevated countries in low
latitudes that the dingiest of downpours is often rapidly
succeeded by the most brilliant sunshine. Next day, as
we left our mountain-camp, we could enjoy to the full the
exhilarating effects of bright sunshine after the tempestuous
night. A short march brought us to the top of the Tih
escarpment, and the rugged masses of the Sinaitic moun-
tains spread out before our expectant gaze. The situation
is of the grandest. The scarp, stretching out from our
feet in a drop of some thirteen hundred feet, had at its
base a broad valley of brilliant yellow sand, from which, as
in an archipelago, rose abrupt masses of blue and dark
maroon sandstone. Beyond was the rugged form of
Serabit el Khadem ; and, again, further in the distance,
rose the peaks of the granite mountains of the peninsula,
showing, by their elevated and jagged tops, the enduring
character and tenacity of their component rocks, compared
with the blunt masses of the sandstone mountains at our feet.

CHAP, ix.] The Tori Territory. 187

After feasting our eyes on the glorious scenery before
us, we commenced the descent, and in a few minutes were
on the sand thirteen hundred feet below. The escarpment
is almost precipitous ; it is partly composed of sandstone,
the nearness of which to the surface of the plateau we
were now for the first time made aware of. As we receded
from it, upon the plain below, it looked like an impassable
precipice ; and if all the passes up to the Tih are as hard
to see as the one from Nuteighineh which we had just
followed, it would be difficult to imagine a more effective
natural boundary between two adjacent countries than this
formidable escarpment.

Arrived at the bottom, we were in To wara territory, and
Musa Nusier begged us to put our arms aside in our
saddle-bags, as we were now in a friendly country amongst
his own people. We readily complied, for Colonel Warren
had all confidence in Musa, who in all his dealings with us
had demonstrated a singular integrity and straightforward-
ness of character. The herbage in the Tori valleys is not
nearly as profuse as on the Tih ; but, notwithstanding this,
there were plenty of goats, and it was now an easy matter
to supply the pot. The climate was very different from
that of the exposed Tih ; and, although at night-time the
sand quickly became cold, so that our water-skins were
frozen solid by the morning, there being little or no mist,
the rising of the sun was soon followed by a rise of
temperature, as high perhaps as 80° F. in the shade by
10 a.m., and we could forget the cold of the night basking
beneath the almost tropical sun.

Now that we had reached the country through which
the Israelites were supposed to have passed under the
guidance of Moses, our thoughts and conversation
frequently turned to the ancient record, and the evidences

188 Serabit el Khadem. [CHAP. ix.

of the country in that connection. It is probable that in
the years that have elapsed since the Exodus no great
alteration has taken place in the appearance of the country.
It may be drier than it used to be ; there is, indeed,
evidence of a much denser population once existing there
than the available water-supply would at present allow.
For the rest, the country is perfectly adapted to illustrate
the Biblical story of the Exodus, and — except for some
particulars, which will be touched upon in the next chapter
— fosters the identification of sites ad lib.

We climbed to the top of Serabit el Khadem, and
inspected the remains of the Egyptian temple which
crowns its summit. The temple is rather a mean affair,
but the inscribed slabs which form part of it are extra-
ordinarily clear-cut and well preserved. Professor Palmer
informs us, in " The Desert of the Exodus," that this
temple, and other tablets and inscriptions scattered over the
peninsula, show that at the time of the Exodus, and long
anterior to it, the Egyptian Government were working
extensive mines in this district. It was occupied by a large
colony of workmen, with detachments of troops to preserve
order, the workmen being largely convicts. Round the temple
of Serabit el Khadem were heaps of slag, showing the
nature of the industry that once must have made a busy
neighbourhood of the now deserted mountains of the
peninsula ; and amongst the rubbish, in and about the
temple, we picked up many fragments of old pottery and
glass. There is, however, little to reward the traveller for
his climb up to the ruins, except that the hill forms a new
vantage point from which to gaze at the glorious scenery
of the surroundings.

Our road to Mount Sinai lay for many miles along
narrow wadis, pent up on either hand by masses of sand-

CHAP, ix.] Destruction of Trees. 189

stone or granite mountains, and covered at the bottom with
white sand, or other alluvial deposit. There were acacia-
trees in these wadis ; but all had been pollard in a very
rough manner, so as to be nearly destroyed. This was
owing to a foolish regulation of the Egyptian Government,
which, in 1873, imposed a tax of charcoal upon the Bedouin
of these parts. Such an egregious act of folly was worthy
of the rule of the spendthrift Ismail, and has apparently
already resulted in a serious diminution of rain-fall. The
Bedouin complained that the rain had entirely failed of
late years, and Musa Nusier pointed out to us places in
the wadis which he remembered thickly covered with trees,
now bare of all verdure. Colonel Warren explained to him
the relation of cause and effect, and urged him to stop the
wholesale destruction of the trees going on, and which, if
persisted in, would make the country uninhabitable and
force his people to evacuate it. The sheik took his lecture
very intelligently, and promised to bring the matter before
his next Council of State.

Not a moment too soon will have been this action, if
indeed, any has resulted ; for, what with the Bedouin,
their camels, and their goats, it is a wonder there is a
green leaf left in the peninsula. The Bedoui looks
upon the trees as only ministering to the wants of the
moment, and supplying him with either fire-wood, shade,
or charcoal for the payment of his taxes ; and as for tree-
planting such a notion would never enter into his head.
The camel looks upon leaf, thorny branch, or root, each as
excellent food, and hesitates not one moment to transfer
each and all to his stomach when the opportunity offers.
The goat, however, is probably more harmful than the
other two put together, seeking out every tender twig and
shoot, or nibbling at the bark of the stems, thus rendering

190 77te Sedan. [CHAP. ix.

growth a hopeless impossibility in the present attenuated
state of the vegetation.

Notwithstanding the little reverence shown by the
Bedouin to their few remaining trees, there is one exception
to this in the " shik " tree, one of which is generally to
be seen in each wadi, and is sacred to the memory of some
great man now passed away. This tree is preserved from
damage or destruction ; and round it the people assemble
on certain days to dance the tawaf, and perform their
rites, /tt is interesting to observe that the tawaf* (a sort
of walk-round) is performed with the left hands towards
the tree ; so that the dancers go round in a contrary
direction to the apparent motion of the sun in the northern
hemisphere, or to the movement of hands of a watch, i.e.,
in the way it is customary to waltz.

From the light-coloured strip of alluvial soil in the bed
of the wadis masses of rock rose on either hand in abrupt
steeps ; and high up we would often see the head and
horns of the bedan (ibex) looking down from some safe
eyrie at our cavalcade below. The mountains of the
peninsula are so smooth and slippery that hunting these
ln><l(ni is a very difficult matter, unless the soles of one's
feet are tough enough to do without boots. We made
several attempts at them, but never succeeded in bringing
one down, being unable to do more than make a short
dash from our line of march after the illusory pair of
horns, which promptly disappeared either for good, or to
reappear on some further peak high above our heads.
The best way to hunt the bedan is to sleep on the moun-
tains at night, and in the morning you are likely to get a

* This is one of the chief ceremonies that a Mohammedan performs at
Mecca, doing the tawaf round the sacred Kaaba.

CHAP. IX.]

Jebel Serial 191

shot at some unsuspecting animal below you ; but he has
a wide and acute vision for all below him, and is very
difficult to work up to.

On the evening of the 8th we camped close to Wadi
es Sheik, within full view of the lofty Jebel Serbal, which,
until recent years, divided the honours of the Sacred
Mount with Jebel Musa. The outline of Serbal is a very
fine and jagged one, but, after the publication of the
results of the Survey of 1872, it ceased to be regarded as
a formidable rival of Jebel Musa, which latter was generally
preferred as the real Mount Sinai.

On the 9th we crossed Wadi Solaf, reaching the
Convent of Mount Sinai by the Nakb Hawy pass. The
granite masses which form the majority of the hills around
Jebel Musa are particularly fine. The vegetation is here
much more abundant than in the lower parts of the
peninsula, for the ivadis are considerably elevated, the
plain of Er Rahah, close under Mount Sinai, being at a
level of between four and five thousand feet above the sea.
The pass of Nakb Hawy is very rugged, and baggage -
camels generally go round by Wadi es Sheik ; we were
anxious, however, to avoid the detour, and get to the
convent as soon as possible, so forced our animals up the
pass, doing the four or five miles in two hours. Nimrs
infest the pass, so say the Bedouin ; there are several
springs, round which palm-trees, ferns, and grass are
closely packed, each striving to gain a monopoly of the
precious fluid.

As we emerged on to the plain of Er Eahah, at the
top of the pass, the scene which lay before us was very
striking. Stretching to the front was a broad plain dotted
with scrub, hemmed in on either hand by rugged hills ;
and away beyond the plain was a massive rock, Has

192 Plain of Er Rahah. [CHAP. ix.

Susafeh, the place where Moses was supposed to have
stood to proclaim the law to the assembly in the plain
below. I do not think we arrived at this spot with much
idea of the greater fitness of Jebel Musa than any other
mountain to illustrate the Biblical record — but rather
disposed to hold the modern identification of sites in
somewhat contemptuous regard, as related in no distant
degree to that hunger for the remunerative -marvellous
which induces the monks of Sinai to group within an
hour's walk of their convent many sites of scriptural
interest, regardless of the requirements of time and
space. There is, however, a majesty about Jebel Musa
more eloquent than the most learned disquisition of its
abstract claims as a rival to Mount Serbal ; and while
under its influence we showed little tendency to carp at
the theory which attributes to it God's choice of the spot
where His chosen people should worship Him.*

Er Rahah is beautifully adapted for maintaining the
scenic effect of its treasures. As one traverses it from the
western end, one can but see the tops of the heights which
form the Mount Sinai group ; and the centre of the
plain swelling up cuts off from sight its eastern end at
which is the convent. The plain is indeed in shape like
a cathedral, along the aisle of which we were approach-
ing. At the east end, in the chancel, is situated the convent.
In the space between the south transept and the chancel
is situated Jebel Musa, with Eas Susafeh in its front.
The actual peak of Jebel Musa was hidden from us as we
proceeded up the plain, and our eyes were fixed on Eas
Susafeh, the pulpit-rock of the Law-giver, a mass of granite

* In the last few years criticism has again been at work, and has dis-
credited Jebel Musa as the real Mount Sinai.

CHAP. IX.]

Arrival at the Convent.

193

rising sheer from the plain some two thousand feet. As
we reached the watershed of the plain, its extensions right
and left opened up to us ; while away in the distance,
backed by a conical hill, we saw the convent situated in

CONVENT.

JEBEL MUSA.

RAS SUSAFEH.

WADI ES SHEIK.

WADI EL LEJA.

W

its groves of cypress and fruit-trees. Bathed in the warm
tints of the setting sun behind us, the granite masses,
hedging in the valley on either hand, formed a noble
setting to the ancient convent ; and so contrasted was the
scene in its stirring associations with the uninspiring
inquiry we had for months been closely engaged upon, and
in the presence of the convent, the only feature of civilisa-
tion and Christianity which the desert had to show, that
it was even as if we were reaching the end of a pilgrimage
and arriving at the long-looked -for shrine.

Pitching our camp a quarter of a mile from the con-
vent, we proceeded thither under the care of an old monk

o

194

Reception by the Monks.

[CHAP. IX.

who had been sent to receive us — he all the while showing
great trepidation, for his fellow-monks, he whispered, were
going to fire a salute of two guns in honour of Colonel
Warren, and it was a question whether the unusual con-
cussion would not bring down the convent walls or do
some unlooked-for damage. However, discretion prevailed,
protecting them from any serious consequences of their
rejoicing, and the guns were not fired.

THE CONVENT OF MOUNT SINAI.

We were courteously received by the monks, who ap-
peared to be grateful to Colonel Warren for the measures
he had taken on his visit to Tor during the war — measures
resulting in the protection of the Archbishop and people
there, and in a partial revival of law and order in the
desert, where, at that time, these qualities were conspicuous
by their absence. We were treated to a quaint pick-me-
up directly we had been ushered into the guest-chamber.
A large silver tray was brought in on which were tumblers
of clear, ice-cold water, glasses of araki (a liquor much
drank in the East), a jar containing some sweet jelly, and

CHAP. TX.] The Sights of Jebel Musa. 195

€./ «/

two silver leaves holding silver spoons. The refresher
consisted of first drinking the araki, then taking a
spoonful of jelly, and finally drinking a tumbler of
water; the effect of the whole was excellent, and paved
the way to thorough enjoyment of the convivial cigarette
and coffee.

Unfortunately, the Archbishop and the Archimandrite
were absent at the time of our visit at Tor ; and the inferior
monks could give us no new information upon the state of
the desert during the war, the behaviour of Arabi's
governors at Nackl and El Arish, the rumours that
Palmer's capture and murder had occasioned, and the
many other points we had hoped to obtain information
upon.

We made as thorough an examination of the convent
as our time would allow. The sights are such as may
tickle the sense of sanctity of the Russian peasant — the
class which mainly furnishes the pilgrims who visit the
convent — but are not worthy of the place or its associa-
tions. There are some interesting old manuscripts,
beautifully illuminated, on which the monks place great
value, though it is probable that the books themselves are
utterly beyond the ken of any of the inmates of the
convent. The library has given to the world several
precious old works ; and, besides the famous " Codex
Sinaiticus," Mrs. Lewis's and Mrs. Gibson's recent find of
an old Syriac text of the four Gospels promises to be of
considerable importance.

There is an abundant supply of water from the springs
in the valley above the convent, the water is stored in
large underground reservoirs, and is led out to irrigate the
gardens below.

We could only spare one day, or rather part of a day,

o 2

196 Departure from the Convent.

for seeing the convent and its vicinity ; but succeeded in
reaching the top of Jebel Musa, which attains a height of
7359 feet. The well-worn steps which mark the way to
the top bespeak the many pilgrims that have made the
ascent. Close to the summit we found snow in a recess
which the sun could not reach, while in the rays of the
sun the heat was considerable. The panorama obtained
from the top is very fine : the great barrier of the Tih
bounds the view to the north, and all around are the peaks
of the Sinaitic mountains, only one or two of which are
higher than Jebel Musa. The mountain itself is composed
of granite, and upon the top, and at several places on the
way up, are churches which are made of sandstone. On
our descent we saw some bedan, and had a short ineffectual
hunt after them ; but we had no time to waste, as our
baggage was already miles away en route for Wadi Feiran,
and we had only time to say good-bye to our friends the
monks and follow it. They were very effusive in their
expressions of goodwill, loading us with mementoes
of our flying visit, in the shape of manna,* some
preserve made of dates, and several loaves of leaven
bread ; and, somewhat burdened, we hurried off after our
baggage-animals .

Colonel Warren wished to return to Wadi Sadr with
all speed, and make a survey of the ground ; but as we
were to pass through Wadi Feiran, he had promised to
visit Musa Nusier's encampment ; and the sheik had
therefore left us before we reached Sinai to make prepara-
tion at his tents for our reception. We reached the
sheik's encampment on the llth, and as we galloped up

* A sweet sort of gum which is palmed off on the long-suffering pilgrim
as the manna of the Bible.

CHAP, ix.] Entertainment by Sheik Musa, 197

on our camels we were received by Musa and a few
retainers ; while the women gave us the customary salute
of welcome of the East, a vociferous warbling noise like
the cooing of doves. We were invited to a collation,
which we partook with some fifteen Bedouin of the
Towara tribe. The banquet was a solemn, dignified affair,
and the Bedouin tackled their portions in a very earnest
manner, admitting of no conversation until the talaf was
finished and coffee served.

Then we lit our pipes, and Musa Nusier became
communicative. He told us an interesting anecdote of the
murder of an Algerian in Wadi Sadr four years before.
The matter was investigated by Salami Shedid's father
(then the reigning chief), who at once threw the blame on
the Aligat section of the Towara. Ode Ismaili, the
Aligat sheik, and Musa Nusier were accordingly sent for
and thrown into prison. Fortunately for them, a man was
arrested in the bazaar at Suez with the purse of the
murdered man upon him ; and through him the murderer,
a Dubur, was traced and executed. The similarity of this
outrage with the one we were engaged in investigating
was very remarkable.

Fifteen years before, Musa said, the Dubur stole a
camel-load of spices, and the Shedid had only delivered it
up after being threatened with imprisonment.

Whilst the survey of Sinai was proceeding, when
Professor Palmer first visited the country, Musa Nusier
was in prison at Cairo, having refused to take part in the
guardianship of the Suez Canal. After prolonged litiga-
tion, he proved his case from the records in the
Government offices at Cairo, and showed that the Towara
had never been charged with the care of ground north of
the peninsula.

198 Wadi Feirdn. [CHAP. ix.

It would appear that in the East both the Moslem and
Christian records of bygone times for several hundred years
back are very complete, and can be made use of to a far
greater extent than they can in Europe. Considerable care
is devoted to the conservation of documents, and there
appears to have been no general destruction of them as
was the case in England in the troublous times of the
Reformation. Although learning and civilisation have
almost departed from the East, they had their rise there,
and twelve hundred years ago the East was far ahead
of the West in these respects ; in the careful preser-
vation of records, the traditions of a better time
seem still to perpetuate themselves, and will doubtless
some day give valuable materials for research to our
Orientalists.

Musa Nusier complained to Colonel Warren of the
taxes the Government exacted from his people — ten
shillings on every camel-load that they took into Suez, the
value of a load rarely exceeding twenty or thirty shillings.
He told us also of his attempts at irrigation. He had
once built a dam across Wadi Feiran for the purpose of
obtaining a supply of water for irrigation purposes. The
dam completed, a heavy shower of rain had fallen and
swept it clean away ; and the sheik, looking upon that as
the hand of Allah, had henceforth desisted in his attempts
at improved agriculture.

Next day we passed through the palm-groves of Wadi
Feiran, an extensive oasis numbering some 5000 date-
palms. The soil is very fertile, and appears to be derived
from an alluvial clayey deposit that once filled the valley.
This deposit is visible, in protected corners, at the sides of
the wadi, standing up sixty feet above the present level of
the watercourse. Professor Palmer and the survey party

CHAP, ix.] Nabatliean Inscriptions. 199

in 1868 identified this spot with the Biblical battle-scene
of Rephidim. Doubtless the oasis has long existed, for
early in the Christian era this was the site of the episcopal
city of Paran (corrupted, probably, to the modern Feiran).
The ruins of the ancient city are still to be seen on the
rocks on either side of the wadi.

On the night of the llth we halted in Wadi Makatteb,
among the far-famed Sinaitic inscriptions. It is only of
recent years that they have been deciphered, and the
theory that they were the work of the Israelites during
the Exodus exploded. They are, it is now ascertained, of
later origin, about the fourth century, and are either in the
Greek or Nabathean language. The profusion with which
the peninsula supplies these inscriptions is a remarkable
fact, when taken with the absence of all unmistakable
traces of the Exodus. Even the miners carved inscriptions
and figures on the rocks, and yet the Israelites, who during
their desert wanderings must have had very little to do,
have left nothing as a memorial of their presence.
Perhaps this may be due in some measure to the course of
discipline and training which the forty-years' wandering
appears to have been designed to afford — to strengthen and
purify the Israelites after their prolonged sojourn in the
morally and physically enervating atmosphere of Egypt.
They were to make no altars of hewn or fixed stone ; their
one tabernacle was a removable building, carried about
wherever they went ; they were fed from day to day by
the hand of Grod, and had no need of either cultivating
corn or building granaries for its storage ; while their
burials seem to have been but simple interments in the
earth, without — even in the case of their leader Moses —
any enduring memorial to mark the spot.

We visited Wadi Magara, where are several mines

200 Aspect of the Peninsula. [CHAP. ix.

that once supplied work for thousands of people. Some
fifty years ago the mines were exploited by a Major
Macdonald ; but the venture was not successful, and the
ruins of his house are all that now remains to tell of it.
The country of the peninsula has an extraordinary
burnt-up look, as if it had only just been turned out of Dame
Nature's crucible. The facts of there being little or no
vegetation on the hills, and the atmospheric denudation
being slight compared to the denuding power of the torrents,
combined with the extraordinary medley of mountains and
isolated hills that form the greater part of the country,
result in an exposition of the geological formation of the
country in a manner that is rarely visible elsewhere.
Dykes of trap -rock lie across the trough of the loadis,
conspicuous in their dark homogeneous character. "Whi^-
ever way we turn the native rock is visible to the eye, wnn
the trend and contortions of the strata plainly exposed to
view ; and from an eminence we may mark the recurrence
of the beds as plainly as we could if the country had been
modelled, and the model was the object of our study. On
the sides of the wadis masses of clay left in the sheltered
portions, high up many feet above the bed of the valley,
attract the eye by their colour, contrasting with the backing
of sandstone, granite, or other crystalline rock which form
the mountains of the peninsula. Lodes and veins of
copper are frequently visible as one continues on one's way ;
and everything lies so naked before one, that it would be
difficult, if countries could be made to order, to construct
one better adapted for the illustration of geology. Used
as geologists are at home to look far and wide for sections
of ground, and then only to obtain them on a minute scale
in quarries, gravel-pits, railway-cuttings, &c., this peculiarity
cannot but be striking.

FLINT-FLAKES FROM WADI KAHALI.V.

CH AP. ix.] Flin t- Flakes. 2 0 ]

In the vicinity of Wadi Kahalin we came across some
mounds where the natural rock rose to the surface, the
desert being here covered for the most part with a gritty
covering of sandy soil. These mounds were covered with
what appeared to be ancient flint-chips. We examined
and collected a number of them, some with most perfect
chisel-points, and came to the conclusion that the peculiar
shape was caused by the action of the sun on the
rock, splitting up the matrix into flakes, which thus, in
many cases, resembled the arrow-heads which we are
accustomed to see in museums. It appears most probable
that the Sinaitic inscriptions were cut with implements
such as these, for the sharp flint-flakes have sufficient
hardness to indurate the soft surface of the sandstone rock
of the peninsula, on which rock most of the inscriptions
are found. It is by no means impossible that there
were once manufactories of flint-implements here, such
as are still to be seen near Cairo, and in other places in
the East.

The recorded observations of practical geologists in
Arabia Petrsea do not point to any recent changes in the
condition of the ground that affect the country to any
great extent. But there is one movement now going on,
—the depression of the delta by the weight of the
successive deposits of alluvial soil, and the consequent
upheaval of the country south of Ismailia towards Suez —
which is of great importance. This movement results in
the continual forcing back of the head of the Grulf of Suez
further and further to the south, and the widening of the
isthmus to a like extent. It is not difficult to estimate
that this movement is very rapid. The identification of
Pithom with the Heroopolis of Strabo's time leads to the
belief that the Grulf of Suez has receded at the rate of

202 Invasion of Sand. [CHAP. ix.

a mile in every thirty years since that time ; and the
movement is apparently still progressing, and will soon
either leave the town of Suez far from the water, or leave
it situated on an inland lake like the Bitter Lakes or Lake
Timsah.

Now as a consequence of this movement we have a
secondary very important change going on. The area of
sand-hills east of the Nile, which seems to be but an
outpost of the Lybian desert, is increasing in extent ; and,
moving east and north-east with the prevailing winds, is
fast spreading over Arabia Petraea. The Grulf of Suez
and the escarpment of the Tih, with its westerly range of
hills, Rahah, Smar, and Bodia, have hitherto kept back
that sea of sand ; but with the drying up of the Nile-
mouth which discharged itself into the Bed Sea, and
the recession of the Grulf of Suez, the barriers are
partly withdrawn, and the western slopes of Rahah
are already buried in the sand. To the north of
these hills the whole of the country is engulfed, and
it is difficult to foresee where the encroachment will
end. Here is a great revolution slowly altering a
corner of two continents, and all brought about by
the sediment floated down in solution by the waters of
the Nile — that great river that throughout the period
of history, and away back into several periods of geo-
logical change, can be traced busy at the work which it
is still doing.

We had now been fairly over the desert, had seen the
principal waters, and made the acquaintance of most of
the sheiks, except along the northern shore, The detailed
conclusion we had formed of the population closely coin-
cided with the rough estimate Colonel Warren made at
the onset of the work. We put down the muster of

CHAP. IX.]

lighting -Strength of the Desert.

203

2,000 under Egyptian
rule.

fighting-men, that the desert tribes of Arabia Petrsea east

of the Canal could raise, as follows : —

Towara 500 '

Haiwatat, near Suez, ... 150

*Dubur of Wadi Sadr ... 100

Terebin of Wadi Sadr ... 100

Lehewat of Wadi Sadr 150

Tiyahah 200

Sowarki 400

Terebin of Gatie ... 400

Haiwatat of Petra ... 500

Lehewat 500

Azazimeh ... ... 800

Terebin 2,000

Total 5,800

3,800 mostly under
Turkish rule.

Taking the most liberal estimate, Professor Palmer's
figure of 50,000 men was, according to this, much too
great. He had never any prospect of engaging tribes
further to the east than those mentioned above, and it is
very doubtful whether — had he even been supported by
the whole country — more than one half the fighting-men
could have been engaged for war-purposes. The Bedoui
thinks first of his flocks and herds and of his tents ; and
in times of war he is little likely to leave them unprotected,
liable as they are in peace-time to occasional raids from
hostile tribesmen.

The Terebin in the above list figure as a very powerful
-body, and it is probable that they are the best disciplined
tribe of this part of the desert. They were able to resist
our operations successfully, and all but one or two men of
their tribe escaped justice.

* The Dubur are a family of the Haiwatat, which has been given this
distinctive name.

CHAPTEE X.

THE IDENTIFICATION OF MOUNT SINAI. DIVISION OF THE COUNTRY
OF ARABIA PETR^A AND NEIGHBOURING DISTRICT. CONNEC-
TION BETWEEN MOUNT SINAI AND THE WILDERNESS. DIVISION
OF THE WILDERNESS. DISCREDITING OF THE SINAITIC MOUN-
TAINS AND THE COAST-LANDS AS POSSIBLE SITES OF MOUNT
SINAI. CONSIDERATION OF THE Tin. CENTRAL GROUP OF
MOUNTAINS. POSITION OF ANCIENT PEOPLES. TACTICAL
DETAILS GIVEN IN BOOK OF NUMBERS. IDENTIFICATION OF
SITES, MARCHES, &c. INDEFINITE CHARACTER OF THE HOLY
SCRIPTURES ON THIS QUESTION.

THE question of the position and the identification of
Mount Sinai has recently been eagerly debated, and a
large amount of intelligent criticism brought to bear upon
the subject. Nevertheless, among the various authorities
who have given forth their opinions on the subject,
comparatively few have been possessed of any personal
acquaintance with the country involved, and it may not be
out of place here to record the deductions which, without
any pretentious to Oriental scholarship or deep Biblical
knowledge, I have been able to draw from an ordinary
acquaintance with Holy Writ, combined with the ex-
perience of the topography of Arabia Petrsea gained
during the Palmer Search-Expedition.

The great difference which exists between the methods
adopted by the various schools, in their criticism and
interpretation of the Bible, makes it difficult to approach
this subject on grounds which will be generally conceded ;
but, whatever the weight given to their historical and

CHAP, x.] Opinion of Experts. 205

statistical details, we must recognise that the books of the
Old Testament, and especially those books which are
commonly styled the " Books of Moses," were compiled
from older, and in some cases from contemporary records,
and compiled by a people endowed with a very intimate
knowledge of the countries concerned. Thus, while we
may perhaps be inclined to question the accuracy, or
exact meaning, of obscure itineraries in a country which
was and still remains mainly desert, we must credit
general topographical characteristics as given by authori-
ties to whom the countries concerned offered no deep
and insoluble problems.

Experts * have arrived at the opinion that no great
change has passed over the face of the country of Arabia
Petrsea since the time of the Exodus ; but, on the contrary,
the general features of the country remain the same in
this day as when Moses led the people out of Egypt.
There may indeed be a little more sand in the northern
portions of the district, and the Red Sea may have receded
somewhat from its then northern limits, but, generally speak-
ing, the country is little altered as far as Arabia Petraea is
concerned. As regards the Holy Land, and the neigh-
bouring ancient kingdoms of Moab and Edom, &c., great
difference evidently exists between their present condition
and what they were in the early times of history — a
difference due probably to the diminution of the rainfall
caused by the destruction of trees.

Summing up what we clearly know of these countries
in ancient times, we may separate them into four distinct
divisions, as follows : —

(1) Egypt, a low-lying belt of country, watered

* See Dawson's " Modern Science in Bible Lands," and Hull's " Arabia
Petrsea."

206 Edom an Impossible Site. [CHAP. x.

by the Nile, and cultivated to a high extent by
irrigation.

(2) The land of Canaan, with the important division
of Philistia in its south-western corner. A land of hill,
dale, and plain, watered by a somewhat capricious rainfall.

(3) The Kingdom of Edom and the South Country, or
Negeb, lying to the south of Canaan. Pastoral countries
chiefly, but occupied by a settled population.

(4) The Wilderness, a tract of country between Phi-
listia, the Negeb, and Edom on the one hand, and Egypt
on the other.

Each of these divisions is plainly recognised in the
Bible, and Mount Sinai is absolutely and consistently
connected with the last division, viz., the Wilderness ; and
we are led to look upon the Mount of God as remote from
men, from flocks and herds, situated in the wide -spreading
deserts, where nothing but God's interposition could sup-
port a multitude like Israel at the time of the Exodus.
One cannot, therefore, but reject any such solution of the
question of the actual position of Mount Sinai which
places it in such a locality as Edom* (which as a geo-
graphical expression was distinctly recognised by the
writers of the Bible), as entirely opposed to the spirit of

* Mr. Baker Greene, and later, Professor Sayce, have adopted Edom
as the probable site of Mount Sinai, and identify Elim with Elath, on the
Gulf of Akabah. I notice Professor Sayce estimates that " a journey of four
or five days from the frontier of Egypt would have brought the Israelitish
caravan to the Gulf of Aqabah (Akabah)." Such a statement is remark-
able, and it would be interesting to know upon what known data, concerning
the movement of large bodies of people, the Professor bases it. Twenty
miles a day is pretty good going for an organised army of practised
marchers; but the transit of three millions of people, with their flocks,
herds, and impedimenta, across a desert waste two hundred miles in extent,
and including more than one narrow defile, at the rate of forty miles a day,
would be something very out of the common.

The Wilderness. 207

the sacred record ; and we must look to the Wilderness,
and that alone, for the Mount of God.

The breadth of the Wilderness between Egypt and the
Negeb was roughly two hundred miles, and we are told
in Exodus iii., 12 and 18, that Mount Sinai was three
days' journey from Egypt. Amongst the Bedouin, one
hundred miles is about three days' journey for a man
on foot : taking this as an average amount, we should
expect to find Mount Sinai about the centre of the
Wilderness, half-way between Egypt and the Land of
Promise.

Having thus cleared the ground somewhat for the
examination into the issue before us, let us look at this
area of the Wilderness, and see what it has to say for
itself. We find it divided into three general districts,
viz. : — the Sinaitic peninsula on the south, the coast-lands
on the north, and the central plateau of the Tih. Taking
these divisions seriatim we may narrow the issue yet
further.

(1) The peninsula of Sinai is discredited as the site of
the Mount of God, notwithstanding the fact that the
discredit is mainly of very modern growth, and is opposed
by testimony of the greatest weight amongst the recognised
experts.* Sir Richard Burton, writing in 1883, says :—
" . . . . the so-called Sinai (Jebel Musa) is simply a
modern forgery, dating probably from the 2nd Century,
A.D. ; . . . the first Mount Sinai (Jebel Serbal) was
invented by the Copts, the second (Jebel Musa) by the
Greeks, the third (Jebel Musa) by the Moslems, and the
fourth (Jebel Susafeh) by Dr. Robinson . . . ." In

* Professor Palmer and Sir Charles Wilson, who were employed upon
the Ordnance Survey of the Siuaitic peninsula, both accepted Jebel Musa
as the veritable Mount Sinai.

208 The Mountainous District. [CHAP, x

my opinion the peninsula is discredited mainly for the
following reasons : —

(a) The country of the peninsula was a mining-centre,
garrisoned by Egyptian troops ; and no mention is made
in the Bible of collision with such troops, which would
necessarily, in the event of Moses advancing by the
southern route, have opposed his march.

(b) Such a detour through the desert cannot be
recognised as a likely operation, without strong evidence
to the contrary ; and no reason is given in the Bible for
such a detour.

(c) The mountainous district of the peninsula was
entirely un suited for the march of an enormous body of
people like Israel. The mountains lie in tangled masses,
through which narrow valleys wind a very devious course.
Granted that the people could have marched twenty
abreast — a very liberal computation — the column would
have extended to nearly one hundred miles from the
advance to the rear-guard. The arrangements for camping
and for the march of the Israelites from Mount Sinai,
detailed in the early chapters of Numbers, would be
entirely out of place and impossible of execution from
Jebel Musa owing to the lack of open ground to form up
upon. We are distinctly told that the northernmost of the
four bodies into which the armies were divided was to
march last from Mount Sinai ; whereas, as the direction of
the march must have been northward from Jebel Musa,
it would have been compelled to march first.

(2) The coast-lands bordering on the Mediterranean
are likewise discredited, although they were the ordinary
route from Egypt to Canaan. We are told — Exodus xiii.,
17, 18 — " That God let them not go by the way of the
land of the Philistines, although that was near ....

The Coast-Lands. 209

but God led the people about by the way of the
Wilderness by the Bed Sea." This disposes of the
coast-route leading to Philistia ; and we are left to
interpret the words " by the way of the Wilderness of the
Red Sea." These words, taken in conjunction with what
follows concerning Pharoah's pursuit, appear to me clearly
to refer to the desert tract between Egypt (the country
irrigated by the Nile) and the Red Sea. It lies south
of Wadi Tumeilat, the Goshen of the Pharaohs. This
(h'tottr, by " the way of the Wilderness of the Red Sea,"
does not assist us much in the identification of Mount
Sinai, for it was made for a particular and announced
purpose, viz., that God might " get honour upon Pharaoh " :
but it does this much for us, that it gives us, as a starting-
point of the cross-desert route, some point on the eastern
shore of the Red Sea, probably near the Bitter Lakes.

(3) The Desert of the Tih, the remaining division of
the Wilderness, consists of a vast plateau of limestone,
sloping gently towards the north, drained by the Wadi el
Arish, the Scriptural " Brook of Egypt." From this
great plateau rises a group of mountains, of which Magura,
Yeleg, Hilall, and Ihkrimm are the chief. This central
group is the prominent feature of the Tih, and is seen
from great distances away — the mountains invariably
presenting the most striking appearance, rising as they do
out of the monotonous, level plains around them. I well
remember, on the first occasion that I reached the Tih
from Wadi Sadr, my attention being rivetted by Jebel
Yeleg, some fifty miles distant, rising up like an enormous
barnacle ; and were this mountain invested with the halo
of sanctity which God's choice imposes, I am sure the
impression produced by it would equal the grand but
tumbled granite piles of the so-called Sinaitic peninsula.

p

210 The Desert of the Tih.

Strangely enough, these mountains have been almost
unremarked by travellers ; and, except for the itineraries of
Mr. Holland, we should know very little about them.
They are formed of sandstone and igneous rock, and
probably projected as islands through the cretaceous sea
by which the plateau of the Tih was deposited. A closer
examination, however, than (as far as I know) has yet
been made, is necessary before the derivation of these
interesting mountains can be decided ; and it is not
impossible that they may be found of later origin, which
would have required a comparatively recent interposition
of volcanic agency. If so, and other conditions are
not traversed, it will satisfy those people who look for
evidence of recent volcanic activity to explain those
manifestations of thunder, lightning, fire, smoke, and
overhanging cloud which accompanied the Giving of
the Law.

In considering this question of the position of Mount
Sinai, the situation of the principal peoples of the neigh-
bourhood is of primary importance. The Philistines were
located round Gaza, in the south-west corner of the
Promised Land. The Edomites are tolerably clearly
evidenced in the Bible as being located south of Canaan,
stretching from the head of the Gulf of Akabah up the
Arabah towards the Salt Sea. Moab was east of the Salt
Sea and of Jordan : and the Amorites were between
Moab and Edom. The Amalekites were located in the
Wilderness, but probably had a partial hold in the Negeb,
or South Country. I. Samuel xxviii. 8, defines their
occupation as follows : — " The Geshurites, and the Girzites,
and the Amalekites, for these nations were the inhabitants
of the land which were of old as thou goest to Shur even
unto the land of Egypt." The position of the Midianites

CHAP, x.] The Country of Midian. 211

is not so clear as that of the foregoing peoples. They
have been placed on some maps upon the western shore
of the Gulf of Akabah ; but this was probably more
owing to the faulty assignment of Jebel Musa as Mount
Sinai than anything else. We find Moab and Midian
connected together as allies in Numbers xxii. and the
following chapters, and Midian is also mentioned in
Genesis xxxvi. as being " near the field of Moab." From
the description given of them they and the Amalekites
were doubtless pastoral peoples like the modern Bedouin ;
and probably they shared the Wilderness between them,
and kept a hold also on the South Country for agricultural
purposes : thus Jethro the Midianite was very likely
located in the Negeb.

From the account in Exodus iii. 2, the Mount of God,
considered with respect to Canaan — for Exodus was written
after the Israelites reached the Holy Land — was at the back
of the Wilderness ; and also, considered with respect to
Egypt, in front of Midian, for we read that Moses returned
unto Jethro from Mount Sinai to get leave to go back to
Egypt. And, again, when Moses left Sinai for Kadesh, he
wanted to take Hobab the Midianite with him, for he
could be to them " instead of eyes." Thus there is
nothing in the suggestion of Jebel Magara or Yeleg as
Mount Sinai inconsistent with the sacred record in respect
to the position of Midian.

The arrangements for the march of the Israelites
detailed in the early chapters of Numbers are also of great
interest in this connection. We can imagine the Israelites
grouped round the Mount of God, supplied with water and
food by God, surrounded by the hostile bands of Amalek,
who, though defeated in pitched battles, pursued the chosen
people with relentless vigour. " Remember what Amalek

p 2

212 Tactical Arrangements for the March,

did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of
Egypt, how he met thee by the way and smote the
hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee
when thou wast faint and weary. Therefore, it shall be
that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from
under heaven ; thou shalt not forget it." Deuteronomy
xxv. 18, 19. The detail for the march is as follows : — Four
armies were formed to take up their position north, east,
south, and west. On the east was the strongest body, con-
taining 186,400 men, facing in the direction in which the
main advance was to be made ; in rear, to the west, was the
smallest body, 108,100 men; facing the north, towards
the dreaded power of Philistia and the populous district of
the Negeb, was the second strongest body, 157,600 men ;
while on the south was another 151,000 strong. In the
interval between the four armies were the Tabernacle and
the Levites, round which, doubtless, were grouped that
mixed multitude, and the women and the children, who,
with the flocks and herds, made up the vast concourse of
Israel. An assembly such as this could not have covered less
than twenty-five square miles in camp, or nine square miles
on the march ; and the difficulty of commanding such a body
is recognised in the Book of Numbers, in the minute detail
of the orders for the advance. When leaving Mount
Sinai the eastern army was to start first, followed by the
southern army, as if the direction of march was easterly, or
east by south ; and the remainder of the Israelites would
follow, the last to move being the northern force. For such
tactical arrangements the open tableland of the Tih would
have been most suitable — nay, in few other places would
it have been possible to carry out such arrangements.

The group of mountains, Magara, Yeleg, Hilall, and
Ihkrimm, appear to me to fulfil all the primary conditions

CHAP, x.] Desirability of Making a Survey. 213

which are forced upon us by the Scriptural account of the
Exodus ; and it is a matter of wonder to me that they
have not ere this been appropriated as the first favourites
for the honours of the Sacred Mount. Now that we have
some special status in the country, it appears most
desirable that an accurate and exhaustive examination
should be made into their topographical features. As far
as it is known the topography of the country does not
clash with the details of the Biblical narrative. For
instance, take the journey of over two months from
Barneses, which was situated in Wadi Tumeilat, to Sinai.
Taking the shortest line of route, such a march could
not have averaged more than two miles a day — a much
smaller record than is generally considered a fair allowance.
When, however, one thinks seriously of the matter, what
a difficulty the moving of a heterogenous medley of
enslaved people would constitute, with only one leader (or
at most two) to look up to, one cannot wonder at their
moving so slowly ; in fact, the only thing to wonder at is
that they could be moved at all as one body.

I regret to have no identification of sites to urge as
marking the probable positions of Marah, Elim, &c., but, with
our present knowledge of the country, such indentification
is but idle imagining ; and it is very questionable whether
the great lapse of time, 3,000 years and more since the
Exodus, does not render the identification of places of such
little importance a hopeless task. There are, however, two
points to notice : — one, in respect to the Wilderness of Sin
(Clay). In some parts of the Tih — and close beside
Jebel Yeleg I recollect one very remarkable instance —
the plain is composed of one smooth, level expanse of
clay, hard enough to walk upon, leaving just the slightest
print of the boot, and so level that comparison with a billiard-

214 From Mount Sinai to Kadesh. [CHAP. x.

board would be more appropriate than with a tennis-court.
The Wilderness of Clay would, it appears, be a singularly
appropriate name for much of this country, the marly nature
of the surface-soil of which is everywhere apparent. The
other point is in reference to the " Holy Wadi of Towa,"
mentioned in the Koran in connection with Mount Sinai.
The similarity of this name and Wadi el Dow, near Jebel
Magara, is worthy of note.

The progress of the Israelites from Mount Sinai to
Kadesh offers no particular difficulties. The identification
by Professor Palmer of Ain Gadis as the site of Kadesh,
has generally been accepted, and fits in conveniently with
most theories. Although the Book of Numbers gives
only three camping-grounds between Mount Sinai and
Kadesh, in the Wilderness of Paran — which would agree
very well with a march direct upon Kadesh from the
mountains of the central group — Deuteronomy opens by
telling us that it was ' eleven days' journey from Horeb
by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh -barnea." What
" by the way of Mount Seir " means is very uncertain,
for Mount Seir is generally applied en bloc — on what
grounds I have failed to ascertain — to the Edomite high-
lands east of the Arabah ; but as the following verse to
the above dates from the eleventh month of the fortieth
year of the wanderings, the above statement, having nothing
to do with the context, is doubly difficult to understand.
If, however, it is competent to assume that the eleven
days' journey means that it took the Israelites eleven
days to accomplish the distance from Jebel Magara to
Kadesh, no difficulty results.

Again, the description given of Elijah's journey from
a point a day's journey beyond Beersheba — identified by
Palmer as Bir Sebi — presents no difficulty. The Bible

CHAP, x.] The Bible and Mount Sinai. 215

says that he went thence forty days before reaching Mount
Sinai. But it does not say that he did anything but
wander aimlessly about in the Wilderness until forty days
afterwards, when he found himself in a cave in Horeb.
It is interesting to notice in this connection that Jebel
Magara means " Mountain of the Cave " ;* and although
the name could very reasonably be applied to many of
the Arabian hills, popular notions concerning the per-
sistence of local names in the East direct attention to
the circumstance.

One thing cannot fail to strike the Bible reader inte-
rested in this question, namely, the absence in the
Scriptures of all signs of interest about the locality of
Mount Sinai. One would have thought a people who set
such store on their high places would have cherished the
recollection of the place where their nation was literally
raised out of death into a new life, and would have done
all to perpetuate its memory. It may be, however, that
the enforcing of the sense of God's holiness— which
appears to have been one of the chief results of God's
teaching at Mount Sinai — was so complete, that the sacred
mountain was looked upon with dread rather than with
love ; as a place to be avoided and left entirely to God, lest,
by touching the Mount even, God's wrath should be
brought down upon them to consume them in his anger.
For many generations after the Giving of the Law Israel
was busily engaged in the very practical pursuit of killing
their enemies, of conquering the Land of Promise, or
bearing the yoke of their periodical enslavements ; it is,
then, little wonder that they lacked the time or inclination
to give play to that predisposition to pilgrimage which

* One authority states that Jebel Magara means " Mount of the Yisit,"
a title equally suggestive.

216 Interest in the Mount of the Law [CHAP.

appears to be a pretty general characteristic of the human
race. To whatever cause this neglect of the great spiritual
birthplace of their nation may be attributed, it is
sufficiently remarkable, the more so as in the Psalms
Mount Sinai is frequently referred to ; and we find it left
to a latter-day people, a people of another creed and
another race, to revive the interest in God's Mount. At
least we must be grateful to the monks and anchorites of
old for creating and keeping alive — even by such illicit
methods as the mock identification of sites — the interest
in these holy places, the position of which is still of
absorbing interest.

NOTE. — Since putting together this chapter I have seen a statement in
Sir Richard Burton's report on the Search for Palmer, that " learned Jews
now incline to the belief that the real Tor Sina lay somewhere in the Tih,
north of the great Pilgrimage Line." This belief supports my suggestion as
to the position of Mount Sinai, the group of mountains in question lying
north of the Hadj route from Suez to Akabah, about midway between these
two places.

CHAPTEE XI.

RECONNAISSANCE OF WADI SADE. ME. AND Miss CHAEEINGTON
VISIT THE SCENE OF MUEDEE. BUILDING COMMEMORATIVE
CAIEN. RETURN TO SUEZ. AEEANGEMENTS FOE THE TEIAL.
AEEIVAL AT CAIEO. TANTA. THE COMMISSION OF INQUIET.
COUET-MAETIAL AT ALEXANDRIA. SENTENCE OF COUET.
CRITICISM OF HOME PEESS.

FROM information derived from Bedouin whom we had
met on our march we now knew that Salami Shedid had
left Wadi Sadr, and had gone north to Jebel Magara in
order to make some more arrests. We were thus free to
visit Wadi Sadr again, and make our final examination of
the ground. It was also desirable that Miss Charrington
and Mr. Spencer Charrington, who had been now some
time in Egypt, should visit the scene of their brother's
death. Our party was consequently split up, Lieutenant
Burton going into Suez to escort the Charringtons to the
wadi, while Colonel Warren and I went there direct.

We visited Wadi Silfeh, where Palmer's camels — that
were stolen from his camp at Wadi Kahalin in order to
delay his march — were recovered. We had taken several
of Palmer's old camel-drivers with us to tend our camels,
and thus had them always handy to give any evidence
when required. The wadi was sketched as marking one of
the incidents of the tragedy. We here first made the
acquaintance of the khamsin wind, which blows from the

218 Survey of Wadi Sadr. CHAP. [XL

west in this part of the country ; it is a warm, stifling
wind, full of fine dust which dries up one's skin, and is
very unpleasant. Cooking was a difficulty as long as this
wind blew, and having sent our cook away, as a useless,
troublesome encumbrance, our amateur efforts were rather
handicapped.

On January 17th we commenced a compass -survey of
Wadi Sadr, making at the same time a careful examina-
tion of the ground, which resulted in the discovery of
many mementoes of the murdered men. It appears that
after the baggage had been looted the bandits assembled
at a spot in the wadi, where Hassan Ibn Mershed, a Terebin
petty sheik, spread a carpet and invited the men to put
their spoil upon it, that a general division might be made.
But, like David's young men after the pursuit of the
Amalekites, the Bedouin objected to a general division of
the spoil, and finally each kept what he had possessed
himself of. This place was found, and near it we dis-
covered a quantity of paper, including some official
correspondence of Captain Gill, and part of his journal
completed up to August 8th, two days before the party
were made prisoners. Five months had elapsed since the
attack, and yet here were the papers scattered about just
as if they had been turned adrift a few days previously.
During those five months a good deal of rain had fallen,
and that this made no difference was probably owing to
the purity of the desert air. The location of the
actual site of the ambush was fixed by the finding of a
stain of blood on the road which led up to the wadi. It
seems that one shot at least was fired at the attack, and
a camel was wounded and subsequently killed ; but though
rumour had indicated this from the first, there was always
an unaccountable difficulty in getting evidence on the

CHAP, xi.] Place where the Ambush was Laid. 219

point. Further down the wadi we found a leaf of a note-
book of Professor Palmer's, which he probably had with
him when attacked ; for close to the place of attack we
found, some days later, the cover of the book caught in a
bush.

On the surrender of Palmer and his companions, the
Bedouin immediately stripped them of their clothes, leaving
on them only their under-garments. Professor Palmer
and his companions wore the Bedoui dress in more or
less completeness ; and it is somewhat remarkable that
these clothes were, on their capture, at once stripped off.
Palmer took pride in being a Bedoui amongst Bedouin,
and doubtless carried off the character well; but it is
questionable whether this facilitated the work he had in
hand. By judicious driving you can work wonders with the
so-called wild sons of the desert ; but they are too acutely
on the watch, how best to serve their own turn, to do
much for a Christian on the score of friendship. They
appear even to have taken umbrage at Palmer's Bedoui
dress, and at once reduced him and his companions to
those clothes which did not savour of a Mohammedan
personality.

Close to the place of attack there is a sudden drop
down of eight feet at the head of a nullah. Here the
prisoners were lodged under guard, whilst their captors
went to loot the baggage some miles down the wadi. We
searched this vicinity carefully, hoping to find some
scratchings on the rock, or some such token, which
the unfortunate men might have left ; but we found
nothing to reward our search. It was here that
Metter Abu Sofia discovered the doomed men when he
returned with his sons after his precipitate flight. Finding
them under the guard of but two Bedouin, he might

220

Metier Sofia's Treachery.

[CHAP. XI.

easily have overpowered these with his people, and carried
Palmer away to his camp ; but no, the old villain must
waste time in palavering, in covering Palmer with his own
abba, and perhaps in an altercation with the man whom

he had brought into
such extremis. What
actually passed be-
tween Professor Pal-
mer and Metter on
this occasion never
fully transpired.
Metter in evidence
said that Palmer spoke
, only once to him, and
then to say, " Metter !
Metter ! " but it is
unlikely that this is
all that was said
between them. Palmer knew that Metter, or his nephew,
was in possession of the money ; that he was the friend
of the powerful sheiks of the interior ; and that,
by Bedoui law, he was alone responsible for the safety
of the party. Nothing had occurred to free his guide
from that responsibility ; and Palmer doubtless would
have had a good deal to say to him, unless he was by this
time fully persuaded that Metter was his betrayer, and
would do nothing to aid them.

From the place of attack a camel-track was found to
run off from the road down to the gully where the murder
took place. The distance was a little over a mile, and,
though very rough, our loaded camels were able to follow
it. Down here our unfortunate countrymen were driven
in the heat of an August noon. Without boots on their

ONE OF METTER'S SONS.

THE SCENE OF THE MURDER IN WADI SADR.

CHAP, xr.j Noon-day Heat. 221

feet, without hats, and, except for their under-clothes,
without any shelter from the burning rays of the sun, they
must have reached the scene of their death in a sorry
plight ; and even if they were conscious of what was
occurring, their senses must have been blunted so that they
were but half -alive to their impending fate. Those who
have experienced the penetrating fierceness of noon-day
heat in Arabia, even when protected by all that clothes
can do to preserve the skin from its scorching effect, know
something of the swimming headiness that is sometimes
experienced under these conditions. Wantonly exposed as
were Palmer and his companions, the sun must have
deadened their feelings and assuaged the pangs of death ;
and as a man tormented by sea-sickness is said to view
approaching shipwreck with equanimity, so it may have
been a welcome blow that put an end to suffering that
stupefied in its intensity, and which they were powerless
to alleviate.

Searching the bottom of the gully, we found no trace
of the tragedy, for the waters had been down since our
former visit, and besides sweeping the torrent-bed clean,
had left numerous pools in the holes at the bottom, thus
narrowing our search. On the cliffs above we examined
the fire where a pair of trousers that we had found
on our first visit had been burnt ; we found several
buttons which had belonged to the trousers, and were
now all that remained distinguishable amongst the
ashes. A few days later, when Miss Charrington visited
the spot, she was able to say that these buttons were
marked with the name of her deceased brother's tailor.
We visited the Bedoui camps at Rahah. At the summit
of the pass we came upon a long strip of ploughed land,
about fifteen to twenty acres in extent, close to where Abu

222 Arrival of the CUarringtons. [CHAP. xi.

Telhaideh and Ibn Mershed had had their camp. We found
also a broken portmanteau, part of a map, pieces of
newspaper, and some empty cartridge-cases for a fowling-
piece.

On January 22nd Miss Charrington and her brother
arrived. We met them at Ain Abu Jerad, and were able
to show them there a Sinaitic inscription. It was carved
on a large rock, situated some distance above the water,
where a bye road converged upon the wadi. The characters

MEMORIAL CAIRN.

were apparently Phoenician, and an impress was taken, as
well as a few spare sheets of blotting-paper that we had
with us would allow. It is probable that the inscription
draws attention to the spring amongst the rocks below,
for there being no verdure round it, as there usually is, to
mark the vicinity of water, the spring was difficult to find ;
but I am not aware that it has ever been deciphered.

On the 23rd we arrived at the scene of the murder, and
there Colonel Warren read the funeral-service, and, to the
amazement of the Bedouin, we fired three volleys of ball-

CHAP. XI.]

Memorial Cairn.

223

cartridge into the opposite cliff. Above the gully, on the
north side, was a prominent flat-topped hill, and here Miss
Charrington selected a site for a cairn of stones. The
cairn was seventeen feet in diameter, with sides nearly
perpendicular for four and a half feet, then sloping inwards
to the apex, which was thirteen feet high. Into the centre
was built an oaken cross, on which was cut the following
inscription: —

PROF. E. PALMER, CAPTAIN GILL, R.E.
LIEUT. HAROLD CHARRINGTON, R.N.,

WERE

KILLED

BY THE

BEDOUIN

WHILST ON

A SPECIAL

MISSION

FROM

THE BRITISH
GOVERN-
MENT.

On the back of the cross was carved the names of Harold
Charrington, his brother Spencer, and his sister Minnie.
A soda-water bottle, with date, &c., was buried in the
cairn, and a consecration service was held when it was
completed.

224 Bedoui Hiding-place. [CHAP. xi.

The Bedouin were much impressed by our proceedings,
and could not understand all the trouble taken on account
of men dead and gone. Whether they have respected the
monument or no I cannot say, but we did all we could to
endow it with sanctity in their eyes. An old Bedoui,
who was lying- sick in our camp with congestion of the
lungs, contributed considerably to the sanctity of the cairn.
He gave out one morning that he had dreamed a dream
during his sleep, and in his dream he had seen the star
Smaiyeh descend from heaven to the gully where the
murder was committed, and gathering up the souls of the
five men carry them up to the cross. After consecrating
the monument, Smaiyeh had taken the souls back to the
wadi, and returned to its place in the heavens.

The Bedouin with us worked wonderfully well at the
cairn. All the stones had to be quarried from the side of
the hill and carried up to the top, and we had very few
tools to work with. It had been our wish to have an
inscription cut in the face of the stone-scarp overlooking
the gully — a form of monument more difficult for time or
the Bedouin to destroy, than a cairn of loose stones ;
however, we were unable to arrange for the cutting of
the inscription at this time, and, though the proposal
was subsequently revived, it has never been put into
execution.

Whilst the building of the cairn was proceeding, a
Bedoui hiding-place was discovered in a neighbouring
wadi. Under a cliff a cave had been formed with its
mouth built up with stones, so that it served as a store.
The entrance was marked by a large square stone, which,
on being removed, disclosed a deep cavity in rear. We
had some burning bushes thrown in to light up the
interior, and saw to our surprise some shining weapons

CHAP. XL] Return to Suez. 225

there. Entering, we found two naval swords, some
fragments of clothing which had belonged to Palmer's
party, and various other articles. The swords were
evidently of a number that Palmer had taken with him
into the desert, in order to present them to the Bedoui
sheiks he was on his way to meet.

On the 27th we returned to Suez. Salami Shedid
was there, looking all the better for his desert excursions.
He said he saw no prospect of getting more men for the
present, but wanted to wait for a month until the desert
got quieter, and the Bedouin returned to their accustomed
haunts. He had been unable to do anything with the
Terebin, who had retired to Jebel Hilall, and refused to
give up the men of their tribe implicated. He expressed
himself as confident of being able to capture the remainder
of the men required in time, if they were given the chance
to return to their old haunts near Wadi Sadr ; he proposed
meanwhile to go to Cairo and obtain fresh Bedouin to
return with him to the desert. Colonel Warren gave
Salami a pass, and congratulated him on the increase of
energy he had shown during the later portion of his
participation in the Search.

The whole of our prisoners had now assembled at Suez.
They comprised twelve persons implicated in the attack,
the ex-Governor of Nackl, and numerous witnesses.
There were several new men who had to be examined, and
many points, which had cropped up since our minute
examination and survey of the ground, had to be inquired
into afresh.

Arrangements for the trial of the prisoners had been
the subject of correspondence for some time past, and it
was now decided that our prisoners should go to Cairo,
where the subsequent steps could be arranged. Our

Q

226 Egyptian Prisons.

band of witnesses were thinned down to twenty-five, some
twenty others being released, and sent back to the desert
to aid in the search for, and capture of, the men still
required. Some of our Bedouin had been in detention at
Suez for four months, and were much reduced by the
unwholesome life of an Egyptian prison. It is a curious
and very trying custom that incarcerates in the same
prison the willing witness on behalf of the law and the
hardened offender awaiting trial. Working, as Colonel
Warren always had to do, entirely through the Egyptian
officials, there was no option but to have our witnesses
imprisoned in the ordinary way ; but it nevertheless
had a very bad effect on them, enabling them to talk
the matter over very thoroughly amongst themselves
before they were examined, so that they were prepared to
tell us as little as possible. At times, when particular men
were brought in, we had to appeal to the Senior British
Naval Officer at Suez to be our jailor, so as to avoid their
mixing with the other prisoners.

Before leaving Suez, whither we did not expect to
return, we had a somewhat lengthy settling up with the
numerous individuals we had employed during the progress
of the inquiry, and who one and all had the most high-
flown expectations of remuneration for their services. We
said good-bye to Sheik Musa Nusier with the regret that
accompanies a parting between firm and tried friends.
Musa had throughout behaved towards us with exem-
plary probity and straightforwardness. In his excellent
judgment we could always rely ; while his calm suavity
and respected personality smoothed over many difficulties,
which would, without him, have proved considerable
hindrances to our progress. He wanted to accompany
Colonel Warren to Cairo ; but the Crown Prince of Prussia

CHAP. xi] Massacre of Christians at Tanta. 'I'll

was intending to make the journey from Tor to Mount
Sinai about this time, and it was most desirable that Musa
Nusier should accompany him. So we declined his offer,
and with mutual and sincere expressions of goodwill we
separated, Sheik Musa to return to his peaceful and
healthy desert life, we to go to Cairo and fatten on the
flesh-pots of the Pharaohs.

On February 3rd we arrived at Cairo, and the next few
days were occupied in making arrangements for the trial.
It had been decided that the prisoners should be brought
before the Tanta Commission, a native court, one of
several that had been established in the country for the
purpose of trying cases of outrage, &c., which were enacted
during the war. At Tanta, which is one of the centres of
fanaticism in Egypt, there had been a massacre of
Christians during the war, ninety-seven losing their lives.
The massacre had been economical, as well as fanatical.
Money-lending Greeks and Levantines were murdered
to free their debtors, the insolvent Fellahin. Three
Arab butchers slaughtered a Christian butcher who had
been guilty of underselling them. The unfortunate
victims were hounded about the streets by crowds of
turbulent Arabs, and killed in a very brutal manner. Some
attempted to take refuge in the mosque, but the doors
were shut, and they were murdered on the threshold.
Hardly any of the better class of Christians in the place
were interfered with by the people, but panic reigned
supreme, and, immediately the massacre had been stopped
by the supine authorities, most of the surviving Christians
were despatched by train to a safer place. It was said that
one of these trains was stopped by the Arabs, and the
fugitives taken out and laid on the rails, the train being
driven over them.

228 The Toivn of Tanta. CCHAP.XI.

Such acts of savagery, appalling as they are to us, are
little regarded by Easterns. In their opinion, the circum-
stances of death may well be utilised to alleviate the
dulness of life. As in the Roman shows, it mattered
little how the captives died, so long as their death
contributed to the public amusement ; so with the Egyptians,
the chasing of a Christian through the streets to his death
calls forth merely the same feelings with which the average
Englishman regards the hunted fox. Retribution, however,
was being exacted. On the day we arrived at Tanta five
unfortunate wretches were hanged in the streets for
participation in the massacres ; and while these were by no
means the first of the victims of justice, eighty prisoners
still remained in prison awaiting trial.

Tanta is a town of about 60,000 people. It lies about
the centre of the delta, midway between the Rosetta and
Damietta branches of the Nile. There is a fine mosque
there dedicated to Seyyid el Bedoui, a popular Moslem
saint of the twelfth century. The mosque consists of a
large square building of about forty yards a side, open to
the sky for the central fifteen yards square. The roof
over the remainder rests on pillars, and is prettily
decorated in the oriental style. The minarets are about
300 feet high, and from the galleries one gets a fine view
of the country round the town. We visited the mosque
under a guard of zaptiehs, who were very necessary, as
several of the more fervid religionists in the place com-
menced expectorating and cursing at us, and had to be
hustled by the zaptiehs before they would desist. How
long the British troops remained here I do not know,
but, although the government of the Khedive was re-estab-
lished, Tanta, to judge from the demeanour of its people,
had little conception that the English were masters of the

CHAP. XI.]

British Troops at Tanta.

229

country ; and the presence of a British garrison there
would have been a good ocular demonstration of the new
order of things, and had a wholesome effect.

This was one of the few places in Egypt where any
trouble was experienced by the Expeditionary Force after
the action of Tel el Kebir. On September 1 7th, four days

MOSQUE AT TANTA.

after Arabi Pasha's crushing defeat, General Sir Archibald
Alison and three hundred of the Gordon Highlanders were
despatched by train to Tanta, there being some apprehen-
sion that Moslem fanaticism might there break out into
renewed disturbance, unless the people were overawed by
the presence of British troops. Sir Archibald, the official
account tells us, was received at the station of Tanta by
the Arabist Governor, who assured him that all was quiet

230 Sir Archibald Alison. [CHAP. xi.

in the town, and he proceeded with his staff and an escort
of twelve men to arrange for the disposition of his force.
Passing through the town the English General was con-
ducted to a large open square, where he found himself in the
presence of a large force of Arabi's army which had not yet
surrendered. The force amounted to some two thousand
infantry, four batteries of artillery, and three squadrons of
cavalry, all fully equipped ; and all round, in the avenues
of approach and open spaces, thronged a crowd of excited
townspeople. The General sent back to the station for
his men, and meanwhile addressed the Egyptian soldiers
near him. These knew little of the defeat of Arabi's
forces, although presumably the higher officers were well
aware of it ; and it was all that the twelve Highlanders
forming his escort could do to keep the crowd clear of the
Greneral and his staff. Whilst Sir Archibald was still
speaking, the three companies of Highlanders moved into
the square, making their way steadily through the crowd.
With the precision and nonchalance of the barrack -square
" each company in turn came up and took position, forming
three sides of a square, with the Greneral in the centre."
The men ordered arms, fixed bayonets, and stood at ease.
The condition of affairs being further explained, the whole
Egyptian force was induced to lay down their arms to
the little band of red-coats in their midst.

Outside the Muderia, where we were accommodated with
rooms, the people demonstrated a somewhat truculent air.
We had to get our meals at a Greek restaurant in the
town, and invariably wore oui uniform and carried arms,
on our way backwards and forwards — a precaution which
was not unnecessary, for when walking behind Colonel
Warren I once noticed a stone, of the size of half a brick,
drop on the ground behind his feet.

CHAP xi.i Preparations for t/ie Trial. 231

Some days elapsed and several journeys were taken
backwards and forwards to Cairo before the arrangements
for the trial could be completed. Something in the air of
the East seems to sap the energies out of a man, and
renders him casual and unbusinesslike. Our experience led
us to the conclusion that it was useless to expect anything
to be done at the specified time, unless we were there to
see it done ourselves ; the arrangements might be made
with a care that should have triumphed over all mishaps,
and the most unlikely contingencies provided for, but still
something would occur to upset everything. When we
first left Cairo for Tanta, every necessary official had been
interviewed, and all arrangements we imagined were
complete. When we arrived at Tanta, and Colonel Warren
presented himself before the Commission, the President
professed utter ignorance of our mission there. If we had
prisoners they could come on for trial in the ordinary
course ; but the prisons were full of people who had a
prior claim to the attention of the law. This, however,
would not do, and with the aid of Major Macdonald,* an
attache of the Consul-General's, the President was brought
to his bearings, and the trial arranged for next day. Next
day, before anything could be done, a telegram arrived
relieving the President of his duties, and suspending the
Commission until the appointment of a successor. Colonel
Warren had seen enough of Egyptian officialdom to know
the futility of waiting events at Tanta, and repaired at
once to Cairo, returning next morning with a new President,
Zekki Pasha. Now we expected to be able to proceed, but
our expectations were doomed to disappointment. In
settling the legal preliminaries it was found that Colonel

* Now Sir Claud Macdonald, H.M. Commissioner for the Oil Rivers
Territory, West Coast of Africa.

232 Methods of the Tanta Commission.

Warren, having conducted the preliminary inquiry, was
ineligible for the position of prosecutor, which it had been
the wish of the English Government that he should occupy ;
Burton was accordingly appointed in his place, while
Colonel Warren watched the case on behalf of the English
Government. Finally, when all else was ready one of the
members was found to have repaired to Cairo, and Burton
had to be sent after him to bring him back.

The Tanta Commission consisted of a President and two
Members. It was the business of the Commission to take
the evidence of the witnesses, in fact, do all but proceed to
sentence, this being reserved for the mixed Court-martial
sitting at Alexandria — a method of safeguarding the unfor-
tunate Fellah from the too drastic methods of justice in
vogue in the East. Egyptian law is based on the Code Napo-
leon, and its methods are much less ponderous than English
legal procedure. The method of taking the evidence was
something as follows : — A witness would be brought before
the Court and questioned by the President in a few pre-
liminary queries to mark the individuality of the witness.
This part generally gave rise to some amusement, for a
Bedoui never by any chance knew his age, and when asked
his trade had nothing to say but that he wandered about
from place to place, when the President would grunt out
" Ah ! Vagrant ! Pig ! " The witness would then be told
to say all he knew about the matter in hand ; after which
the President would address a few questions. In the case
of the accused, the procedure was the same, except that, at
the end of the questioning, the President would generally
address to the accused some such speech as the following :
" Now it appears that you have told a great many lies, in
fact, you are about the biggest scoundrel I ever came
across. What have you got to say to that ? " However,

CHAP. XI.]

Confessions before the Court.

233

these denunciations were little noticed, being apparently
the expected mode of address, from one so immaculate and
unapproachable as the little judge, towards one of the
children of Ishmael. In the case of a prisoner who had
previously made a regularly attested confession, he wus
merely called into Court and his confession read out. If
he assented to it, it was recorded as evidence without
further delay. If, however, the confession included
avowal of murder, or any crime
which would entail capital punish-
ment, the President asked the
prisoner three times whether he
was guilty of the crime stated or
not, before the confession could be
accepted by the Court as valid.
Colonel Warren, who was allowed
to make suggestions to the judge
during the progress of the Court,
managed to get the bare confes-
sions of the prisoners supplemented by the evidence of
the witnesses we had brought with us, so as to make sure
of the part taken by each delinquent, and satisfy the more
exacting ideas of law inherent in English minds.

The province of the Tanta Commission being to report
to the Court-martial, on the strength of which report the
Court would proceed to its sentence, it was necessary that the
evidence of the numerous witnesses we had collected should
all be recorded, thus representing the case somewhat in
the clearness and detail evolved during the preliminary
inquiry. As it was, five days were found sufficient to
dispose of the whole case, including charges against
thirteen prisoners implicated more or less in the outrage,
and the names, in various grades of complicity, of twelve

MEBCEH EL EASHDEH — ONE
OF THE MURDERERS.

234 Sentence of the Court Martial. [CHAP. xi.

other men who were still at large, but concerning whom it
was desirable to record evidence while the witnesses were
at hand. After the fifth day the Commission was closed
to prepare their report and deliberate on their recommen-
dations to the superior tribunal.

On the 18th of February, at Alexandria, whither we
had meanwhile removed with the prisoners, the case was
brought on before the Court Martial. The Court was
composed of six or eight members, in the fashion of the
mixed tribunals Egypt has so long had to put up with.
There was considerable interest evinced in the case,
amongst the spectators being General Harman, the general
in command of H.M. troops at Alexandria, and Captain
Fitzroy, E.N., the Senior Naval Officer.

Chefik Bey, one of the two members of the Tanta Com-
mission, acted as prosecutor, and in a lucid speech disclosed
the salient features of the case and the charges which were
brought against each of the prisoners. The latter were
then duly arraigned. The Court, after a short discussion,
proceeded to pass sentence on the prisoners as follows :—
Salem Sheyk ...\

Salami Abu Telhaideh

Salem Abu Telhaideh ^ Sentenced to death.
AH Shwair ... ...

Merceh el Eashdeh ... 1
Salami Ibn Aid (Metter's

nephew) ... ... Sentenced 1 5 years' imprisonment

Mohammed Arthun ... ,, 10 ,, ,,

Murshed Ibn Said ... \
Aid Ibn Salem M'Haisen !

I K

Salami Abu Owardeh... i
Aid Aba Eigal .-..-)

Salim Sulman . . 3

CHAP, xi.j Confiscation of the Sofia Property.

235

All Effendi, the ex-Governor of Nackl, was sentenced to
be discharged from the service and to suffer a year's
imprisonment with hard labour. The property of the
Sofia family was also confiscated to the State, to make good
the money stolen from Professor Palmer.

This confiscation of property was justified by the
facts of the case, but I do not know if any refund of
money has been made
to the national coffers
thereby. If not, it
is most probable that
the sentence of the
Court has been uti-
lized by the sheiks
to plunder Metter
Sofia's family, and
thus compensate
themselves for their
out-of-pocket ex-
penses connected
with the Inquiry.

The Bedouin sen-
tenced to death were

sent to Zagazig, where they were to be executed in
the presence of a sheik and two Bedouin from every
tribe in lower Egypt, some thirty-three in all. It
was arranged with the Egyptian Government that they
should not be executed until we returned from El
Arish, whither Colonel Warren now proposed to go,
to endeavour to open up personal communication with
the Terebin sheiks of the desert, and to inquire into the
conduct of the ex-Governor Said Effendi, a noted Arabist.
There had been rumours of the latter's participation

SALAMI IBN AID (METTER'S NEPHEW), WHO
ESCAPED WITH PALMEK'S MONET.

236 Criticism of Home Press. [CHAP.XI.

in Palmer's capture and death, and that he sent out
a party of Sowarki horsemen to make him prisoner.
He had consequently been held over, at the time of the
trial of the rebel leaders at Cairo, so that his complicity in
Palmer's death might be inquired into.

The work of the Palmer Search-Expedition being now
to a great extent finished, it could not be but that com-
ments, which up to that time had been generally laudatory
to the methods employed by, and the success achieved by
Colonel Warren, now changed to criticism and depreciation
of the value of the work done. The case had been imper-
fectly elucidated, said the comfortably-chaired, home critic.
The witnesses had been bullied in an unfeeling way ; men
had been condemned on their own confession ; and lastly,
Shedid had escaped. To all of which criticism one must
give a qualified assent. It is in the nature of human
affairs to be imperfect. But it is questionable whether the
critic, or anyone else, could have done the work better, and
have taken greater pains and care to elucidate the facts of
the mystery in which the fate of Professor Palmer and his
companions were involved than Colonel Warren did.

The accusation of bullying and unfeeling treatment
of our prisoners is on a par with the petitions for
pardon that follow many of the condemnations of
notorious criminals in our Courts at home. The
Bedouin themselves were well assured of Colonel Warren's
probity and straight dealing, and recognised in that the
truest tenderness ; and to the end, their demeanour
towards us, even of those accused of the capital crime, was
never that of men suffering any hardship at our hands, but
rather as if we were the only people in the world to whom
their welfare was of any importance. Colonel Warren
never treated the Bedouin with undue harshness ; and

CHAP, xi.] Some Answers to the Criticism. 237

although he had frequently to be severe with the sheiks,
and often found it necessary to wound their somewhat
over-refined susceptibilities in order to get them to do
what they were told, in the peculiar nature of the work
this could not be avoided. Above all else he had to
impress on everyone he came in contact with his absolute
sincerity and determination that the perpetrators of the
crime, and they only, should suffer punishment ; although,
as a matter of fact, all the Bedouin of the desert were
accessories to the murder after the act, and deserved little
consideration at the hands of Englishmen.

To the contention that these men were condemned 011
their own confession, one may answer that such is the
Mohammedan law, which exacts that no man shall be
executed until he confesses the crime for which he is
condemned : besides the confessions were but the result of
the previous inquiry, which had established the guilt of
the culprits beyond all doubt, and in far greater elabora-
tion than the Egyptian laws either required, or were
accustomed to.

That Shedid was not implicated by the inquiry one
cannot but rejoice at, for there was no case against him.
On the contrary, the evidence all went to show that
Shedid was too astute and too little tarred with the brush
of fanaticism to have compassed intentionally, when to no
purpose, the massacre of Christians. The order Shedid
issued, under Arabi's command, to make prisoners of all
Christians who should enter the desert, may be construed
as a mere act of the rebel-party in Egypt, on a par with
any other measure they took to forward their cause by
force of arms ; and although to charge them with not
preventing the murder committed by their tribesmen might
pass current in Turkey, it would be little in accordance

238 Shedid Acquitted by the Evidence. [CHAP. xi.

with English notions of right and wrong. Besides,
whereas Ibrahim Shedid was the he ad -sheik during the
war, he died before our inquiry took active shape ; and
we had to deal with his son, Salami Shedid, who could
scarcely have been made responsible for his father's
misdeeds, even had those misdeeds been established.

CHAPTEE XII.

MISSION TO EL ARISH. DEPARTURE FROM ALEXANDRIA IN H.M.S.
"DECOY." LANDING AT EL ARISH. THE WADI, TOWN, AND
POPULATION OF EL ARISH. SITUATION OF AFFAIRS WHEN WE
ARRIVED. CASE OF RACHEED HADDID. GOVERNMENT VESTED
IN BEKKA EFFENDI. INQUIRING INTO CASES OF BASTINADOING,
&c. THE SOWARKI SHEIKS. INIQUITIES OF MUSTAPHA MAM-
NOON'S GOVERNMENT. His ORDER FOR OUR DETENTION. THE
SUSPENSION OF THE GOVERNOR. ENDEAVOURS TO APPROACH
THE TEREBIN SHEIKS. DEPARTURE FROM EL ARISH. WADI EL
ARISH. GATIE. THE SAND-HILL COUNTRY. ARRIVAL AT EL
KANTARA.

LEAVING the criminals in Government custody, with orders
that capital punishment should not be proceeded with
until further orders, Colonel Warren turned his attention
to El Arish.

Early in the year there had been received from the
Governor of El Arish a watch and chain of Professor
Palmer's, and a pair of boots supposed to be the property
of one of his party — which articles had been obtained
from the Bedouin in that vicinity. El Arish had hitherto
not been reached by the Search-Expedition, and it was felt
that something1 further might be done from that point.
It had been a place of considerable importance during the
war, being a transmitting station of the telegraph-line
between El Kantara on the Canal and Gaza in Syria ; and,
being held by a warm adherent of Arabi, who had spared

240 El Arish dtiriny ike War. [CHAP. xn.

no pains in stirring- up a feeling of enmity to Christians
amongst the Bedouin, it had played no inconsiderable part
in the desert. But it was as a medium of intelligence, via
the telegraph-line to Europe, that El Arish had its chief
effect during the war; and Captain Gill, R.E., when he
went with Palmer on his fatal expedition, had as his
primary object to sever this line of communication, and
took with him explosives for the demolition of the line,
intending to cut it at some distance from the Canal.
Gill's mission remained unfulfilled, and on August 19th,

O '

the day the Canal-plant was taken in charge by the Navy,
the wire was cut near El Kantara. This cut, however,
was insufficient to completely sever this line of communica-
tion, for the Bedouin could cross the Canal pretty much as
they pleased during the war, and intelligence could be
forwarded from El Arish ; and on September 10th, Colonel
Warren, then at Tor, had suggested the occupation of
the place by a small party. Notwithstanding this, it
remained unoccupied, even after the collapse of Arabi,
although the Governor was relieved and succeeded by
Mustapha Mamnoon, an adherent of the Khedive ; the
ex-Governor being detained in prison at Cairo, until he
should be cleared of certain charges made against him
of complicity in the attack upon, and subsequent murder
of, Palmer and his companions.

El Arish is situated in the country of the Sowarki
Bedouin, of whom Arabi Pasha was said to have
requisitioned four thousand to five thousand men during
the war; therefore this tribe was presumably of con-
siderable importance in the question of coercing the
Terebin, who were still, from their fastness of Jebel
Hilall, defying our endeavours at arresting the guilty
parties of their tribe. The idea that the Sowarki could

CHAP, xii.] Departure from Alexandria. 241

supply such a number of fighting-men was, however,
purely apocryphal ; and, with further experience of that
tribe, we found no reason to alter our estimate (vide p. 203),
which gave the Sowarki tribe ac a strength of four
hundred fighting-men.

We embarked at Alexandria on board H.M.S. Decoy,
on the afternoon of the 23rd. We were equipped with
stores for a six weeks' expedition into the desert, for
Colonel Warren could not be sure into what action the
departure might lead us. We took with us Selim Mosalli,
our interpreter, and three Bedouin as servants, intending
to get camels and an escort at El Arish, for any desert
journeys that were necessary. The gunboat had some
difficulty in passing the bar of Alexandria harbour, but
this was accomplished before dark, and we were soon
steaming along to the eastward, a heavy north-west wind
blowing, which helped us along, although it made the
Decoy dance, much to the discomfort of some of its
occupants.

As long as the wind blew from the north-west it would
be impossible to land at El Arish, as being on the open
beach the surf would be too high ; however, early in the
morning of the 25th the wind shifted to the south, and
after some little trouble the point of disembarkation was
found, and we prepared to land. This was the first visit
paid by one of our ships to El Arish since the outbreak of
the war, and it is to some extent a matter for legitimate
surprise why it should not have been visited before, and
the inhabitants given an ocular demonstration of the
power of the Khedive's supporters. But the coast is an
inhospitable one, consisting of a shallow, shelving foreshore,
keeping vessels at a distance; and a screen of sand-hills,
palms and scrub, effectually hides the town from the

R

242 Landing at El Arisli. [CHAP.XII.

sea. The exaggerated estimate of the power of the
Bedouin possibly contributed also to prevent the com-
mitting of small bodies of blue- jackets to independent
action ashore, except where definite results were to be
obtained thereby.

As our projected landing proceeded and the boats
neared the shore, considerable stir was created amongst the
Arabs on the beach, and they lined a trench which we
subsequently found had been prepared with the intention

THE SHORE NEAR EL ARISH, WHERE WE LANDED.

of resisting a landing. The surf was running high, the
waves breaking far out from shore, leaving within them a
broad belt of comparatively smooth water, in which the
boats could easily float. We all got ducked, the boats
themselves narrowly escaping capsize ; but after several
attempts we got safe through the breakers into the smooth
water within, where we lay, and hailed the Arabs on
shore. They showed little desire for closer intercourse,
but after some time they took courage, and came down the
beach into the water, gradually drawing closer and closer ;
when they learnt that seven of us wished to land and visit

CHAP, xii.] Getting our Bay (/aye Ashore. ~1 l-.'i

El Arish, they came up to the boats and carried us on
their backs to the shore. On shore we were at once
surrounded by a crowd of unruly Arabs, who, filled with
curiosity at our appearance, were with difficulty made to
keep their distance. Colonel Warren spoke to them,
endeavouring to instil some confidence as to our intentions,
and urged them to go back into the water to the boats and
fetch our baggage. This, however, they refused to do, and
matters were at a dead lock, when an individual in uniform,
who turned out to be a minor official of the garrison,
arrived. Colonel Warren tackled him at once, and ordered
him to send for the Governor, and get the Arabs to
bring our things ashore. A messenger was accordingly
despatched to the town, and, after a great deal of gesticu-
lation and excited dialogue between this official and the
Arabs, our stores were brought ashore from the boats.

It had been necessary for us to wear our uniforms for
landing to ensure recognition of our status ; and our kit
was none the better for the ducking we had received.
Spread upon the dry sand, under the hot mid-day sun, our
clothes were soon dry, however, and a little trouble made
our weapons serviceable again. When our trunks and
store-cases came ashore these had to be turned out and
emptied of salt water, a quantity of the stores being
destroyed in the ducking they had experienced. After
about an hour a number of officials arrived from the town,
and every one seeming to be amiably inclined, we sent a
message to the Decoy not to wait for us any longer,
and set about getting transport to convey our things to the
town of El Arish. Camels for the baggage and riding-
horses were soon obtained, and we started off.

Our way lay through the garden-lands, with which
Wadi el Arish is covered at its mouth. No water was

244 El Arish. [CHAP. xn.

seen here at the surface, but it is found a few feet down ;
and numerous shallow wells with shadoofs were dotted
about, reminding one of the delta of Egypt. The sand-
hills impinge upon the wadi on its western side, and are
slowly straitening the limits of the cultivated portion.
The fort and town of El Arish lie upon some elevated
ground between one and two miles from the sea. The
town is a collection of clay-huts, housing some three or
four thousand people, and is entirely dominated by the
fort — an imposing structure (though somewhat dilapidated)
some eighty-yards square, with walls some twenty-feet
high, loopholed, and provided with a cliemin-de-fer for
firing through their crenelated tops. The government
rests in a governor, who is assisted by a bash-cateb and
several clerks. There is also a quarantine establishment.
The garrison of the fort is composed of thirty regular
soldiers under two officers of the Egyptian Artillery, and
twenty camel-men under a sheik. These latter are
permanencies, but the regulars are periodically relieved.

The people of El Arish are of a veiy distinctive type.
They have light-brown hair, blue eyes, and an open, fair
countenance, contrasting with the dark, lowering faces of
the Egyptians. They are said to be of Bosnian extraction,
and were planted here by Mohammed Ali, probably to
strengthen this his frontier-depot : one cannot but think,
however, that these fine, stalwart descendants of the
Bosnian mountaineers are wasted at El Arish, as they
could not easily be wasted elsewhere. Until recent years
El Arish, as the chief station on the trade-route between
Syria and Egypt, had considerable importance, and the
people owned a great number of camels for transport-
running. But now trade prefers the sea-route from Jaffa
to Port Said, and the overland route, and with it El Arish

CHAP, xii.] Governor Mwtapha Mamnoon. 245

has dwindled in importance. The town is now painfully
isolated, and separated from Syria by forty miles of desert,
from Egypt by a hundred miles, is solely important as a
transmitting-station of the telegraph-line, and as a point
of civilisation and government in the desert. The popula-
tion is divided into families or groups, each under a sheik,
and over them all is a head-sheik. Religion and civil
justice is personified in the person of the Cadi, a man of
great reputed sanctity and learning. The people are quiet
and unfanatical, and refused to molest the Christians living
in the town during the war, though constantly egged on
to do so by the governor and his officers. They trade in
the produce of their gardens and orchards, for calico, &c.,
and apparently are a very contented people, living — except
for the presence of government officials in their midst —
a contented, Utopian existence. In ordinary times they
pay no regular taxes, but, doubtless, have their full
share of extraordinary requisitions to fulfil according
as the governor and his subordinates are pleased to

demand.

i

At the time of our arrival affairs were in a most
complicated condition at El Arish. The new Turkish
governor, Mustapha Mamnoon, who had been roughly
treated in Egypt during the ascendancy of Arabi, had
taken advantage of his isolated position at El Arish to
institute a perfect reign of terror in the place. Of this we
knew nothing at the time of our arrival, but Colonel
Warren, always preferring, if practicable, to take these
places by surprise, chose to go to El Arish by sea, so as to
come unawares on the people without preparations being
made for his reception. Unfortunately for the governor,
he had chosen this very time to leave the place ; and
thus his delinquencies were exposed, though he had

24G Turkish Methods of Government. [CHAP. xn.

taken all precaution to secure his own position and a
continuance of his policy during his absence by placing his
son in command of the fort in his place. This he
did, notwithstanding the fact that the Dukolia (the Depart-
ment in which El Arish is situated) had refused to accept
his son as acting-governor, and had sent A., a lieutenant of
artillery, to take command as wakil during his absence.
However, Mamnoon ignored these instructions, and wrote
to say that nothing had been heard of A., though he had
actually arrived and had been placed in a subordinate
position as third lieutenant of the fort. Thus, when we
arrived, Hassan Effendi, the son of Mustapha Mamnoon,
was fraudulently acting as governor, while the real acting-
governor, who was quite unaware of his position as ivakil,
was acting as third officer of the fort.

The first act of Mustapha Mamnoon on arrival at the
fort as governor had been to state that he was irresponsible,
and that he had an agreement with H.H. the Khedive and
the Dukolia to act exactly as he thought fit ; he proceeded
accordingly to rule with the most barbarous severity, taking
measures to make it almost impossible that his unlawful
acts should become known to the administration. He
administered the bastinado freely in the Queen's name,
which so embittered and alarmed the people against the
English, that on our arrival wre were treated as enemies,
and the women actually dug holes in their gardens and hid
all their ornaments, so much alarmed were they at the
arrival of three British officers. It was impossible for us
to avoid noticing that there was some peculiarity about the
people of the placa in their relation to us, but we could not
tell what it signified ; it only appeared as though there
was a very intense feeling against us among all. The
acting-governor, Hassan Effendi, insisted upon our

CHAP, xii.] Introduction of Racheed Haddid. 247

coming to stay in the fort, and, taking us over it, pointed
out where our tents were to be and the rooms where we
might live ; but Colonel Warren had no idea of being
quietly made prisoner of in this manner, and ordered our
tent to be put up some four hundred yards outside the
walls on the north side, and requested a guard of three
soldiers for the night.

The acting-governor paid us a visit in the evening and
inquired what our mission was. We had no credentials
or papers to show who we were, but he appeared to be
well disposed, and, at Colonel Warren's instance, a summons
was sent to the Sowarki sheiks ordering them to come to
El Arish to confer with Colonel Warren. A severe gale was
now blowing, and the tents were with great difficulty kept
standing. Our dinner was a very gritty one, the air being
thick with sand, and we took it in the lulls of the storm
when the tent did not require holding up. About 8 p.m.,
as we were occupied struggling with the tent-pole and guy-
ropes, wondering how long we could stand this kind of
work, our tent was invaded by a young man who seemed
in the last stage of desperation, and begged and entreated
for assistance in Arabic, English, and Trench. We were
not aware that anyone in the place could talk English,
thus his appearance was a complete surprise, and it was
some time before we could make out who he could be.
He turned out to be the telegraph-clerk, a Syrian, named
Racheed Haddid. He had been severely beaten on our
landing by the acting-governor's servant, because he had
not given notice of our coming — which, of course, he
was unable to do as he had received no notice himself.
Such action on the part of the servant could only have
sprung from the master, and occurring at this moment,
it was a very serious act of intimidation, and showed

248 Reception at the Fort. [CHAP. xn.

that Hassan Effendi was not disposed to be on straight
terms. Colonel Warren feeling it all the more necessary
to endeavour to patch up the matter, made light of
it, and suggested that the governor could not possibly
be aware of his servant's act, and would, doubtless,
take early steps to settle the matter. The boy Racheed
— our visitor did not appear more than a boy — showed
several severe contusions on his body which had all the
appearance of fresh wounds ; and from his tremulous,
excited state it was evident that he had been severely
handled.

Next morning, February 26th, we were much fatigued
by our efforts to defeat the wind during the night.
Colonel Warren sent up to the governor and asked
what steps he had taken with reference to the case
of Racheed, the beating of whom had come to his
notice. A courteous reply was received, saying that
the matter would be fully inquired into, which reply
was accompanied with an invitation to dinner at the
fort. Colonel Warren accepted the invitation, and arming
carefully, we went up to the fort, Colonel Warren
instructing us not to lose sight of our weapons, as
he had suspicions that all was not correct at El Arish.
On our arrival at the fort the guard turned out under the
command of the acting-governor, and presented arms,
while Bekka Effendi, the second officer, received us and
took us into the fort. Here we were well received, the
resources of the culinary department being strained by the
provision of a very oily repast in our honour.

The gale — here on shore called the khamsin wind —
blew stronger and stronger, and during the morning there
came reports that the Decoy had been seen off the
shore in distress. This was incorrect, as we ascertained

CHAP. xii. j Racheed's Case Disposed of. 249

afterwards, for she ran before the gale to Cyprus and took
shelter behind the island ; but it is the style of thing that
does in lieu of news in the East. In the evening we
pitched our tent anew under shelter of a sand-bank, as it
was blowing a hurricane.

We went to see Eacheed early in the morning of the
27th, and found him lying in bed, suffering from the effects
of the ill-treatment he had received. As nothing had been
done to compensate him or deal with the case in any way,
Colonel Warren determined to report the matter to Sir
Edward Malet. We got Racheed up to send the telegram,
Colonel Warren being particularly anxious to send it
before he paid the acting-governor a visit, for Hassan
Effendi would probably appeal to his clemency, in order
to prevent the matter going any further, and it would
save trouble to clinch matters at once by making a
report to head-quarters. Subsequently we paid a visit
to the fort to make a formal inquiry into the action of the
acting-governor in Racheed's case. It was found that the
man who had committed the assault was in prison, but the
case had not been investigated. Hassan Effendi pleaded
that he had not power to dispose of such cases, and this one
must wait until his father returned to his government.
However, finally he came to his senses, apologised for his
inaction, which he attributed to lack of experience, and
promised to investigate the case at the earliest opportunity.
These good intentions resulted in the culprit getting a
severe flogging for the trouble he had occasioned his
master.

The continuance of the hurricane forced us to strike
our camp during the day and take refuge in the town in
Bekka Effendi's house, which he kindly placed at our
disposal. We were here better able to get on with our

250 Governor Said Effendi. [CHAP. xn.

inquiry as to the action of Said Effendi, the Arabist
governor, during the war. Colonel Warren's persistent
and successful demand for justice in the case of the assault
on Racheed had an excellent effect on the various people of
the town whom we examined ; and as these gained con-
fidence we discovered, little by little, that the existing
state of affairs, under Mustapha Mairmoon Bey, was far
worse than anything which existed prior to his arrival.
Said Effendi had, indeed, been an energetic and fanatical
supporter of Arabi, but the Christians in the town were
not ill-treated by him, beyond being put under contribution
as he thought they were squeezable. But Mustapha
Mamnoon far exceeded Said in general and systematical
oppression. Many cases of gross tyranny and cruelty were
daily discovered, and in all these Bekka Effendi, now our
host, must have played a consenting, if not an active,
part.

Next day, the gale still continuing, confined us to the
house and town. Telegraphic communication with El
Kantara, which had been interrupted the previous after-
noon, was reopened, and an order came for the governor's
son, Hassan Effendi, to at once surrender the government
into the hands of Bekka Effendi, the senior officer of the
fort. This latter, an alert, bright-eyed, little soldier, who,
being unable to read and write, had before been considered
ineligible to hold the command of the fort, had now the
task of resisting Colonel Warren's inquiry into several
alleged cases of tyranny, illegal bastinadoing and flogging,
during the last few months. He did his duty to his absent
master well ; and, though he allowed that the governor
might have playfully flicked with his cane a few culprits
who had been brought before him, he insisted that such a
direct transgression of the Khedive's decree as bastinadoing

CHAP, xii.] The use of the Kourbash. 251

never for a moment would have been allowed under so
exact and punctilious a regime as that of Mustapha
Mamnoon.

We investigated a great number of allegations, and
were often foiled in endeavouring to drive our case home ;
but one morning in the Makafza Colonel Warren sent for
two clerks whom we had ascertained had lately been
bastinadoed, and examined the soles of their feet. The
skin was marked and scarred, as by a severe bastinadoing
recently administered ; but, on being questioned, they
insisted they knew nothing of being bastinadoed. Colonel
Warren turned to one of the attendant soldiers and told
him to fetch the tourniquet, an instrument by which the
feet of the subject to be bastinadoed are secured. The
man thinking apparently that another castigation was to
take place, and eager for the fun, hurried away before
Bekka Effendi could interfere, and immediately returned
with the instrument of torture: Colonel Warren roughly
ordered one of the clerks to be seized and put on the
ground for a bastinadoing, and the kourbash to be brought.
Bekka, somewhat mystified, gave the necessary orders, and
the clerk was soon on his stomach with his feet held up
by two soldiers, while another stood by with the kourbash
ready to administer correction at the Colonel's command.
On these occasions, in the event of the subject struggling
violently, another man sits on his back and pinions his
arms. All details of the barbarous punishment were
explained and exemplified, except the actual castigation,
and the clerk was then released, to his own relief certainly,
but to the evident disappointment of the soldiers. Colonel
Warren then turning to Bekka Effendi congratulated him
on the perfection of drill shown by his subordinates, and
expressed surprise that a soldier of his standing should

252 The Sowdrki Sheiks. [CHAP. xn.

continue to place himself in a false position for the sake of
defending Mustapha Mamnoon, who had illegally abused
his power as governor to such an unjustifiable extent.
From this moment Colonel Warren was virtually governor
of El Arish, and Bekka Effendi realised that he must give
assistance in our inquiries, or he too would he liable to
get into trouble.

There was little to be done in respect to the particular
business of the Palmer Search -Expedition, for the Sowarki
sheiks had not yet arrived ; it was, moreover, particularly
important that El Arish should be put in a satisfactory
state, so that it could be used as a safe base for the
operations which Colonel Warren wished to initiate against
the Terebin. We heard that the Terebin, who had been
gathered at Jebel Hilall while we were at Nackl, had now
dispersed, going to their ploughing-lands in Syria ; and it
was quite probable that after placing things at El Arish
on a satisfactory basis we would go to Syria and visit
Colonel Warren's old friend Yusuf Effendi, the Turkish
Governor of Gaza, so as to obtain his assistance.

On March 3rd, the gale having abated, we pitched our
tents again, and moved into them, very glad to be able to
vacate the stifling, dark habitation we had been living in.
The Sowarki sheiks arrived, and were interviewed by the
Colonel. They were stupid old men, and had nothing to
suggest as to our going to Jebel Hilall. They rode
charming little Arab horses, and their get up, as the first
Bedoui tribe we had met that used horses, was interesting.
They were told of the matter we had come about, of their
complicity as desert Bedouin in the crime of their neigh-
bouring tribesmen, and of the obligation that lay upon
them to do all to assist us in our search. Escorts would
be required of them, &c. To all this they could do

CHAP, xii.] A Reign of Terror at El A risk. 253

nothing but shake their heads, talking and gesticulating
now and then in an entirely irrelevant manner, like
tremulous but obstinate old ladies, oppressed by the idea
that they are being done. There was nothing possible but
to chaff them, and unlike most Bedouin, who are quick to
recognise humour, this only made them the more stupid ; so
inquiries were made whether some younger and more active
head-men could not be produced, with whom some action
might be arranged. This request subsequently produced
Salami Aradi, a fine, lithe, active fellow, thoroughly
typical of competent Bedoui rascality, and a good fellow
to boot. He accompanied us when we left El Arish, and
thoroughly redeemed the character of the Sowarki tribes-
men in our opinion.

Evidence had been meanwhile accumulating against
Mustapha Mamnoon. We found that he had been
systematically oppressing the people in a thoroughly
Turkish style ; and this all in the name of Her Majesty
the Queen, whom he represented as the rapacious con-
queror of a down-trodden people. Bastinadoing had been
constantly used contrary to the law, and no entries or
reports made to proper authority. People had been
imprisoned to suit the governor's pleasure, forbidden to
meet to read the Koran, for the ceremonies of marriage,
circumcision, or burial, or even for social purposes in their
own houses. The governor had spies all over the town,
and often, without any warning, people would be seized,
and taken before him to account for some trivial offence
or crime hatched against them in the fertile brain of the
governor or his subordinates. The soldiers were encour-
aged to behave so that they were a terror to the people ;
and, in short, this little township, which had of itself all
the elements which should have- secured to it a happy

254 Mustapha Mamnoon at El Kant a r a. [CHAP. xn.

hum-drum existence, was cursed by all the hideous charac-
teristics of a reign of terror. In the intervals when the
line was open (for the storm constantly interrupted
telegraphic communication) Colonel Warren forwarded to
Cairo the more important details as they came to light.
As Mamnoon was at the time at Cairo, it was probable that
these reports would be referred to him, or reach his ears
in some manner. Thus it was likely that he would shortly
return to his government, to stop the revelations into his
administration ; and on March 3rd, whilst we were in the
telegraph-office of El Arish, a message arrived from
Mamnoon, from El Kantara, the next station towards
Egypt, for his son to go to our end of the wire to speak to
him. A reply was sent, by Colonel Warren's instructions,
to the effect that this could not be allowed.

The near approach of the governor had, however, a
great effect on the demeanour of the garrison and people
of the town. They evidently had a lively imagination of
Mamnoon's vengeance when he should regain his govern-
ment, and be able, untrammelled, to work his will upon
them. We were somewhat apprehensive ourselves how
far matters were likely to go on the return of Mamnoon.
He was evidently a man of courage, determination, and
brutality, and would stop at nothing for the furtherance of
his own ends j and with full control over the telegraph
office, the transport of the district, guides, supplies, &c.,
and with unlimited (in comparison with our small party)
physical force to serve his ends, it was more than possible
that we might come off second best.

These feelings were intensified in the evening by a
statement by Bekka Effendi, who was dining with us,
that telegraphic orders had that day arrived from
Mamnoon at El Kantara to the acting-governor, to the

CHAP. xii.] An Awkward Situation. 255

effect that we were to be detained until lie arrived at
El Arish, to which he was coming as quickly as
his camels could carry him. Such an order was tanta-
mount to making prisoners of us, and we observed that
the guard of soldiers that had that evening again mounted
over our tents was unwontedly vigilant, and suspicious
of our movements. Bekka Effendi, too, appeared to be
much concerned for his own prospects, when the governor
should return and find his subordinate had failed in
efficiently defending his superior's interests ; and evidently
was regretting that he had identified himself with our
proceedings in any way.

After Bekka Effendi had retired, we held council
together as to how we could give Mamnoon the slip and
escape on foot to Gaza ; but we soon saw that this would
be impracticable, as it was certain that the Bedouin in
Mustapha Mamnoon's pay could catch us up before we
were many miles away. Moreover, there was the difficulty
about Eacheed Haddid ; it was certain death to him if
we left him behind, and yet we could not take him with
us without disorganizing the telegraphic communication
between Egypt and Europe. Besides this there was the
possibility that Mustapha Mamnoon had sent the tele-
gram for the very purpose of putting us into a false
position. He evidently meant mischief, as his whole
prospects in life were at stake, and from his unscrupulous
character it was clear he would stop at nothing to gain his
ends. Colonel Warren looked upon the situation in a very
serious light, for if he once arrived and took over the
command, Mustapha Mamnoon would be able to get us
into some difficulty — which he could easily do by means
of either the soldiers of the fort or the Bedouin — and
then, when we were in extremis, he could appear as our

25(5 Colonel Warren tries Conclusions. [CHAP.XII.

deliverer and help us out on condition that we should
condone his offences, and our condition might be such that
we would be glad to do so. Our investigation of Mam-
noon's methods of government made us determined never
to place ourselves in his power ; a determination which now
found its only action in the careful overhauling of our
revolvers and rifles, which were very foul from the sand of
the recent storm.

Next morning, March 4th, a messenger was sent early
to the fort to ascertain whether there was any news of
Mustapha Mamnoon, and it was elicited that he was
expected about mid-day on the 5th. It soon became
evident, from the way in which we were shadowed by the
soldiers, that we were prisoners, and some sharp action was
necessary or we should surrender our liberty. When this
was quite clear, Colonel Warren thought it time to act,
and sent up an order to the fort to say he would inspect
the garrison, which was to be ready to receive him, at
10 a.m. At the time appointed we went up to the fort in
uniform and fully armed. The soldiers turned out, and
Colonel Warren inspected them with all ceremony. This
done, he told Bekka Effendi to assemble all the officials
and sheiks of the town. Taken somewhat by surprise,
Bekka Effendi complied, although with some show of
reluctance. But there was a further surprise in store.
Colonel Warren, in a very loud voice, which could be
heard in the village, addressed the officials and sheiks
with reference to the administration of the governor,
assuring them that it was not in accordance with the
wishes of the English Government. By this means he
attracted the attention of the townspeople, of whose
support he was pretty certain, and drew them near to the
fort : the market-square soon became crowded, the people

CHAP. xii.] Suspension of The Governor. 257

thronging the gateway of the fort, and Colonel Warren
ordered Bekka Effendi to admit all the principal men.
Gradually they filtered in and came among the soldiers,
crowding round them until there was not room for them
to use their bayonets.

We did not understand what all this meant, but it
appears that Colonel Warren intended, in case his procla-
mation did not take effect, to call upon the people to seize
the soldiers, and at the same time we would seize upon
Bekka Effendi and the chief officials, and he would take
possession of the fort in his own person in the name of
the Khedive. But we were not driven to this. When
all was considered ready, Colonel Warren produced a
sheet of paper, from which he read : — That finding the
governor, Mustapha Mamnoon, was endangering the
peace of the country, and there could be no question but
that his re-assumption of the government would lead to
bloodshed, therefore, in the name of H.H. the Khedive,
he (Colonel Warren) declared him temporarily suspended
from his functions as governor, until the pleasure of His
Highness might be made known ; and at the same time he
directed Bekka Effendi to continue to act as governor until
instructions should be received from the Dukolia.

At first this was received somewhat dubiously, and
Bekka Effendi appeared irresolute, but Colonel Warren
did not leave him time to think. Easterns can make no
way against constant action. After speaking to the
officials and sheiks, Colonel Warren made a speech outside
the fort to the townspeople of El Arish. He told them
that all the restrictions that had been put upon them
were removed ; that they might visit each other in their
houses, and speak to each other in the streets ; and that
when they were punished or imprisoned entries would

s

258 Colonel Warrens Coup Successful.

be put in the offence-book and sent to the Dukolia, accord-
ing to law. He also released the head-sheik of the village,
who, we now discovered, had been imprisoned in his own
house for several months. Though somewhat doubtful
at first, the people received all this with subdued joy,
but as they still looked with terror upon the soldiers,
Colonel Warren ordered these latter into the fort : then
the general enthusiasm knew no bounds, and the air
was filled with that peculiar, thrilling noise made by Arab
women when they rejoice.

We next re-entered the fort and examined the books
and official records, and had certified extracts made there-
from to support certain charges that Colonel Warren had
made against the governor. These .extracts were written
out in duplicate by the bash-cateb and signed by Bekka
Effendi ; one set was ordered to be sent up direct to the
Dukolia, while we kept the other ourselves, and a precis
of the charges brought against the governor was forwarded
by telegraph to Sir Edward Malet, with a report of the
morning's doings. Next day orders arrived from Cairo,
authorising Bekka Effendi to continue to act as governor,
and instructing him to send Mustapha Mamnoon to Cairo
immediately, without permitting him to enter El Arish.
A party of soldiers were consequently despatched to
arrest the governor, and turn him back to El Kantara,

So Colonel Warren's coup d'etat was entirely successful.
Once the people realised that Mustapha Mamnoon was
deposed, there was abundance of evidence immediately
forthcoming to supplement the charges we had already
made against him ; and when subsequently at Cairo he
pleaded not guilty, we were able to produce the proof of
his cruelty and injustice, so that he was turned out of bis
command and never reinstated as governor at El Arish.

CHAP, xii.] Operations Against the Terebin. 259

We were now free to turn our attention elsewhere.
With reference to the Terebin of Jebel Hilall, it was
ascertained that the incapacity or treachery of Mustapha
Mamnoon had prevented any combined action between him
and the Turkish governor of Graza to compel this tribe to
give up their guilty tribesmen. Some time previously a
meeting of the two governors had been arranged to take
place on the frontier at Kan-Yunis, in order to confer
about the matter, but the governor of El Arish had not
kept the appointment, so Yusuf Effendi, after a bootless
journey, returned to Gaza without doing anything.

It is very doubtful, however, whether anything in the
shape of active operations against the Terebin were possible.
Certainly, on the Egyptian side, there was not the
necessary force. For many years a blood-feud had been
raging between the Sowarki and Terebin, with such dire
results to the Sowarki that their tribe had diminished
considerably in numbers, and were now unable alone to
undertake active operations against their enemies. They
were, however, eager to promote a scheme Colonel
Warren had proposed for a joint expedition of Tiyahah,
Lehewat, and Sowarki against the Terebin, though even
then the odds would have been heavily in favour of the
Terebin. But whenever we proposed to undertake with
them a tentative expedition towards Jebel Hilall, the
Sowarki sheiks would shake their old heads and talk in a
wild way, as only Bedouin can, of the steep mountains
and rugged precipices in the Terebin country, of their
enemies' enormous numbers, and how they gave the
Sowarki such a thrashing a few years back, when five
hundred of their young men were killed. On such occa-
sions statistics are a Bedoui's strong point ; he revels in
numbers with perfect nonchalance ; and without much

s 2

260 Execution of the Murderers. [CHAP. xn.

conception of the meaning of the figures he quotes, trusts
them to prove his point with the fact-loving Frank.

During our stay at El Arish we received intelligence
that the five men condemned by the Court-martial at
Alexandria had been executed at Zagazig. This was in
direct contravention of the arrangement we had made with
the Egyptian Government, and considerably militated
against our chances of making any more captures in the
desert. So with the approval of the authorities at head-
quarters Colonel Warren decided to return to Egypt.

CHAPTER XIII.

DEPARTURE FROM EL ARISH. WADI EL ARISH. G-ATIE. THE
SAND-HILL COUNTRY. ARRIVAL AT EL KANTARA. EECALL TO
ENGLAND. THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT AND THE EXPEDITION.
THE CRITICAL INSANITY OF IRRESPONSIBLE POLITICIANS.
RESULTS OF SEARCH -EXPEDITION. CAUSES WHICH LED TO
PALMER'S MURDER. SELECTION OF PALMER FOR THE MISSION
TO THE DESERT. His INSTRUCTIONS AND ACTION. INTERMENT
OF REMAINS IN ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL.

WE left El Arish on March 5th under escort of Salami
Aradi, the young Sowarki chieftain, and Hamdam, sheik of
the fort camel-men, with several Bedouin and soldiers. As
we left the town the whole population — men, women, and
children — turned out and followed us some way on our road ;
and then, ascending a hill, they stood watching us till the
yellow hill could only he identified in the distance by the
black cap of living creatures which surmounted it. The
four old Sowarki sheiks accompanied us on horseback some
miles, and treated us to some horse -play, galloping their
horses at full speed round us. The gaily caparisoned little
animals pranced about, entering fully into the excitement
of their masters, who, wildly waving their long muskets in
the air, disposed of their imaginary foes, emitting all the
while sharp, barking sounds.

Our course lay southwards for some miles along Wadi
El Arish. The wadi is here from one to one and a half

262 Wadi El Arisli. [CHAP. xm.

miles broad, is almost flat, fully cultivated, and irrigated
with furrows. The bed of the gully, through which the
water flows (when there is any), is about one hundred yards
broad ; it is thickly dotted with tamarisk bushes and desert
scrub, and is eight or ten feet below the cultivated
portion. The gully runs mostly on the western side of
the wadi, and up to it the sand-hills have crept, but can
go no further for the time. The cereal crops were just
showing above ground, and all around and in the desert
beyond the ground sparkled with a carpet of beautiful
little flowers. These spring up and flourish in this country
for some days in the spring time, turning the arid desert
into a bright and welcoming country of delight. Amongst
these flowers we saw the dandelion, poppy, chickweed,
asphodel, and many others that are familiar to us at home.

After some twelve miles we turned west, ascending a
range of small hills, from the summit of which the desert,
as far as Jebels Hilall, Yeleg, and Magara, lay stretched out
before us. We were here able to check the position of these
mountains on our map, and we then set our faces steadily
westward, making for El Kantara.

Our journey westward was through a country of
interminable sand-hills, everywhere moving on slowly
eastwards with the prevailing wind. The western face of
these hills is very gradually inclined, and up this face the
sand is blown by the wind till it falls down from the crest
on the east side in a steep slope of 30° or 32°. At the foot
of this slope is sometimes found grass and scrub, and
sometimes date-palms, with their trunks half-buried
perhaps by the advancing slope of sand. There appear to
be a good many minor waters amongst these hills, and we
saw a good number of sheep and goats. A few tortoises
were also seen, and one was carried off, and subsequently,

CHAP. XIII.]

Gatie. 263

after a six weeks' sojourn in a portmanteau, lived through
a severe winter at home out of doors, became thoroughly
domesticated, and then died.

On March 8th we arrived at Gatie, where is a con-
siderable oasis of (it is said) seventy thousand palm-trees.
We did not count them, but undoubtedly they are very
numerous and cover a large area. Each tree, or group of
trees, has a particular owner ; and, although there are no
caretakers domiciled there, the owners assemble in the date
season, coming from all parts of the Egyptian desert, to
claim their own. There is a fine brick-well at Gatie,
twelve feet in diameter ; the water stood at about twenty
feet below the surface when we were there. Attached to
it is a shallow reservoir, forty yards long by two wide, such
as could be used for watering a large number of animals.

When Napoleon Bonaparte marched his army from
Egypt into Syria, he formed depots at Belbeis, Salahia,
Gatie, and El Arish. In those days, Gatie boasted of a
collection of mud-huts, and was a depot of great import-
ance. Doubtless Mohammed Ali, in his campaigns, used
the same places as depots ; and Gatie probably owes this
reservoir and well to either of these two generals. These
desert depots were important places to a commander
trusting for his line of communication to the land ;
and on his retreat from Syria in 1799 Bonaparte arranged
for fresh works of defence at El Arish. What has become
of them we do not know ; but they were of no avail, for
the place was taken by the Turks the same year, when, it
is said, three hundred French soldiers were butchered in
cold blood.

A severe khamsin was blowing again, and we pursued
our way on camel-back, facing our animals' tails, with the
hoods of our abbas drawn well over our heads. But even

264 Effects of ff/f> Khamsin Wind. [CHAP. xm.

this was of no avail to keep off the sand, and, eddying round
our hoods, it filled our eyes and nostrils, and even the pores
of the skin, which burnt with the heated dryness of the
air ; while to turn round and face the wind, was as
formidable as to face a stiff south-easter in the streets of
Cape Town, compared to which a fougasse is mildness
itself. From Gatie our road followed the telegraph-line,
and it was amusing to see the curious results produced by
the late gales. Owing to the strong wind that had now
been blowing from one direction for a considerable time,
the hills had travelled onwards, and in places we saw the
wires running into sand-hills, whereas in others the poles,
though not exactly suspended in the air, were only kept
from falling by the wires.

On approaching the Suez Canal, and about ten miles
distant from it, the sand-hills ceased, and their place was
taken by a flat plain covered with scrub and verdure ;
while in the distance, as a fringe along the horizon, showed
the masts of Port Said and the ships passing along the
Canal. The question naturally occurred to us — whence
this quantity of sand we had been passing through ?
Could it be that the Canal was an effectual barrier to it ;
and that what had passed before the Canal was made had
now travelled on and was some ten miles away from it,
leaving bare a comparatively fertile tract ?

This sand-hill area, except for the intervening Suez
Canal and a few other minor gaps, is in shape like a dog-
fish with its snout at Cairo, one gill at Suez, the other at
the ancient Tanis, and its tail winding round past El Arish,
up the coast of Palestine towards Jaffa. Throughout this
area the parent rock is, to a great extent, covered by the
nomadic sand ; but the impression we got in travelling
through this country was that of a comparatively fertile

CHAP, xiii.] A Sea of Sand. 265

land recently covered up by the sand-hills, and here and
there at the base of these hills the fertility of the native
soil is laid open to view, and grass and palm-trees flourish.
There is also historical evidence — both in the previous
fertility of the country occupied by the warlike and pros-
perous Philistines, now to a great extent a barren waste of
shifting sand, and also in the closer connection between
Syria and Egypt in ancient times compared to what now
exists — that this tract of now shifting sand-hills, which
separates Egypt from Syria by near two hundred miles of
sand, is of comparatively modern growth.

Whence this great sea of sand ? Is it a limb of the
Libyan Desert, which has escaped across the delta in the
khamsin winds, and is perpetually being added to and
added to ; or is it the waste of the native rock of these
areas ; or is it a portion of the Nile silt cast up by the
Mediterranean Sea ?

It seems improbable that this sand comes, to any
considerable extent, from the sea, for just where the sand
belt is widest the land is protected from the sea by the
delta and the lagoons of Menzaleh and Sirbonis, than
which no better barriers against sand could be devised ;
besides, the prevalent winds are westerly, and except in
Palestine these could not blow the sand inland from the
Mediterranean shore. Neither can we attribute it to the
waste of the native rock ; for, though in Philistia the
calcareous sandstone by disintegrating produces a vast
amount of sand, this same strata is not found elsewhere
in the sand-hill area ; nor is there any other rock that is
known to disintegrate to a similar extent, and which could
give origin to the sand in question. The shape of this
tract of country seems to suggest that it has its starting-
point and origin in its south-western extremity, where just

266 Spread of Sand-hill Area. [CHAP. xm.

south of Cairo it almost touches the Libyan Desert, and the
broad cultivated-area of the delta gives place to the narrow
strip of cultivation bordering the Nile of Upper Egypt.
There are also indications that the cultivated area of Egypt
is not so extensive as it used to be under the vast
irrigation-system of the ancient Egyptians, and it thus
presents less of a barrier to the wind-blown sand of the
Libyan Desert than it used to do. If, then, we have to
look for the origin and the modern expansion of this sand-
hill area to the Libyan Desert, we cannot avoid seeking
some means whereby this inroad may be mitigated. Under
the improved irrigation which our engineers have intro-
duced into Lower Egypt, and hope likewise to apply to
Upper Egypt, the efficacy of the Nile to resist the onward
march of the Libyan sands may be largely increased.
Elsewhere, too, much might be done. The area through
which the Sweet- Water Canal to Suez passes imght be
made another barrier to the march of the sand — a gradually
spreading oasis, not only barring the march of the sand-
hills, but absolutely spreading into the sand, reducing it to
a productive soil and making the desert to blossom once
more as the field. Instead of levying a tax of charcoal
on the Bedouin, a tax of dates might be required in its
place ; which would foster the growth of trees instead of
destroying them wholesale, and would lead to the expan-
sion of such oases as Gatie, El Arish, and many others of
minor degree.

We arrived at El Kantara at eleven o'clock at night on
the 6th March, after rather a long day's march. We
promptly called on the governor, who invited us into a bed-
room while he retired to dress himself. Somewhat wearied
by our unpleasant journey, we threw ourselves down to rest,
and speculated on the frame of mind of Governor Mustapha

CHAP, xiii] Meeting with Mtistapha Mammon. 207

Mamnoon, who we had ascertained had arrived, some two
hours before us, with his son, Hassan Effendi, whom we
had left in prison at El Arish. Whilst we were discussing
this uninteresting topic the curtains of the bed rolled
aside, and a big, loutish-looking Turk tumbled out and
introduced himself - as Mustapha Mamnoon. The con-
versation that ensued was not relieved by any great
vivacity. We talked about the khamsin and the vileness
of the road, and soon the governor of El Kantara
returned. As the latter appeared rather put out at the
meeting of his two batches of guests, and first impressions
left no desire to improve our acquaintance with Mamnoon,
we left the house, Colonel Warren first arranging one little
detail for Hassan Effendi's benefit — an arrangement which
resulted in that gentleman being placed in irons and sent
back to El Arish, to stand his trial for the cruelties com-
mitted during his short and unlawful term of governorship.

Mr. Turner, of the Egyptian telegraph-service, kindly
took us into his house and gave us a refreshing cup of tea;
and we left at 3 a.m. in the Canal-boat for Cairo, where
we arrived on the evening of the 9th.

For the purposes of the Palmer Search-Expedition our
journey to El Arish effected little, except the release of
the Arabist governor of El Arish, Said Effendi, who was
still detained at Cairo pending the results of our inquiry.
We had nothing to urge against him, except that he
appeared to be only a little more energetic than the usual
laixcrfaire style of Egyptian officials, and he was therefore
liberated forthwith.

There being little prospect of any further progress in
capturing the culprits who were still at large without
operations on a much more formidable scale than had so
far been necessary, and the Bedouin having been already

20^ Attack in the House of Common*.

taught a salutary lesson by the measures of the Search-
Expedition, we were ordered to return to England, to
resume our ordinary duties.

On March 6th there had been a debate in the House of
Commons, when certain members of the irreconcilable party
had attacked the Government on their conduct of the
matters which had resulted in Professor Palmer's death,
and the subsequent Search-Expedition. Colonel Warren
had not escaped the flattering attention of these gentlemen,
who did not hesitate to challenge his integrity in the
conduct of the investigation, and in the words of one of
their number, " Colonel Warren had not scrupled, by the
use of duplicity, force, or torture, to extort confessions, or
pseudo-confessions, from those incriminated persons."

The eagerness with which people at home adopt and
make public the gravest and most discreditable charges
against their countrymen beyond the seas, where they are
unable effectually to defend their own conduct, occasions
some of the saddest moments in the lives of those whose
duty it is to serve their country in foreign lands. We have
lately had an instance of this in the charges that were
brought against Captain Lugard by the French priests, and
which were fulminated, scattered broad-cast, and believed
in to a great extent by the public, without the subject of
these infamous charges having the opportunity, until
months had elapsed, of refuting them. Captain Lugard,
D.S.O., has told us how Lord Salisbury's emphatic refusal
to accept unproved so infamous an indictment gave him
fresh heart, after the disgust which had filled him when
he received intelligence of the enormities which had been
falsely laid to his charge.

The attack upon the Search-Expedition and its chief
was not the subject of a similar rebuff by the responsible

CHAP, xiii.] Lord Northbrook's Opinion. 269

Minister in the House of Commons ; and we had to wait
till the llth to receive justice at the hands of the Govern-
ment. Then, in the House of Lords, Lord Northbrook,
the First Lord of the Admiralty, gave expression to these
words : — " I wish to take this opportunity of also clearing
up a point with reference to a very gallant officer who has
done most excellent service for the protection of the Canal ;
I mean Colonel Warren. Colonel Warren, as soon as it
was rumoured that Professor Palmer and his party were
missing, volunteered at once to go out and assist in the
search. He has pursued that search with gallantry, deter-
mination, good judgment, and a perfectly judicial mind.
He has taken the greatest care to ascertain who were
the really guilty parties, and I must protest against the
inference .... that in prosecuting the murderers — for I
can find no other term for them — there has been anything
whatever done of which an Englishman can be for a
moment ashamed. The inquiry has been conducted with
the greatest care, and I am as certain as I am that I am
now addressing the House, that the men who were hanged
deserved their fate."

But it was not only in a personal attack on Colonel
Warren that the opponents of the Government spent their
energies ; they went to work on other and broader grounds,
and indulged in wilder and more insane criticism. The
" sending of Professor Palmer and Captain Gill, H.E., into
the desert, not only to seduce the Bedouin from helping
Arabi, but also to seduce them into cutting the telegraph
wires of their liege lord the Sultan of Turkey, the ally of
the English Government," was characterised as " such
double-dyed treason and trickery as never was exceeded in
the whole history of tortuous transactions." The ambush
by which Professor Palmer was captured was explained as

270 Party -Politics v. Common Sense. [CHAP. xin.

" national resistance to the invasion and spydom, and
bribery and treachery of the (Palmer's) Mission." The
murder of Professor Palmer and his companions was
characterised in the English Parliament as the justifiable
exaction of the penalties of war upon spies, and the
proceedings of the Government in demanding and carrying
out justice against these murderers resulted in what was
termed " the bloody judicial murder carried out with the
connivance of the Government."

Englishmen are now tolerably used to the libellous
embroidery with which some modern politicians adorn their
attacks on their political opponents, and in the case of men
whose sole trade is talk, and whose future is bound up in
the virulence of the language they can fabricate and employ,
one need not be surprised at a little unnecessary piquancy
of expression. There are, however, some questions which
are above the treatment of party-politics, and the careful
moderation with which, in this case, Her Majesty's
Government had pursued its task of defending the interests
of the Empire and the lives of our countrymen abroad
should have relieved it from being made the subject of
such a hysterical series of unjustifiable misstatements.

It is perhaps idle to refer, at this late day, to such
blatant rubbish, which could only find a footing in minds
saturated with the belief that in rebellion a people finds its
most fitting attitude, and that the overturning of con-
stituted authority is everywhere a desirable consummation.
One might go further, and attribute to the orator who
gave utterance to the above-quoted criticisms the desire to
foster and perpetuate the spirit and effects of fanaticism,
and to officially establish that the duty of the Mohammedan
to kill the Christian is one which, as good Christians, we
cannot deny to the faithful Moslem : but, doubtless, it

CHAP, xiii.] A " Bloody Judicial Murder." 271

would be paying unnecessary attention to matter which, at
best, probably only represents the seizing of an occasion
for hampering a Ministry and weakening the government
of the country — a part which would appear in this nine-
teenth century to be developing into a public duty
incumbent upon all citizens. However, let it be granted for
one moment that, having captured Palmer, Charrington,
Gill, and their two attendants, the Arabs felt justified in
shooting them as spies ; was it not still necessary for the
victors to exact punishment notwithstanding ? What would
be the ordinary course in such a case ? Would it not be to
organise a punitive expedition, and send men to take
indiscriminate vengeance on the people and authorities
amongst whom the justification for shooting three English-
men in cold blood were possible ? And yet what do the
Government do ? Initiate an inquiry which works away
amongst the Bedouin for some months, slowly unravelling
the details of the crime and apprehending the guilty
persons ; instilling into the hearts of the Bedouin a venera-
tion for a conquering nation whose love of justice can
control its power of revenge ; and finally, only proceeding to
punishment after scrupulously satisfying both the law of
the land and the justice -loving instincts of the English
people.

The characterising of our work as culminating in a
" bloody judicial murder " derives little support from the
complete pacification of the desert which resulted from
the Expedition, and the establishment of a confidence
towards the Government which had never before been
exhibited by the sons of the desert. As the Bedouin
frequently informed us, they now recognised that it was a
love of justice that had enabled the English to become so
great a nation ; and whilst Colonel Warren displayed a

272 Complete Pacification of t/ie Desert. [CHAP. xm.

constant solicitude for their general welfare, and left no stone
unturned to ensure that those only who were guilty should
suffer punishment, they, on their part, quietly acquiesced
in our endeavours, and displayed no hostility towards
us although our lives were constantly in their power. Our
inquiry aroused no angry feelings amongst the tribesmen,
but, with the exaction of punishment for crime, left the
desert in a perfectly secure condition. Confidence in the
Government was largely stimulated, and, unless the last ten
years has strangely belied the promise that the desert
held out to us in 1883, the safety of, and facilities
for, travelling through it were considerably augmented.
Colonel Kitchener, who visited the country subsequently,
gives some testimony on this point in " Seir and Moab."
He says : — " Colonel Sir Charles Warren's energetic
action in the capture and bringing to justice of the
perpetrators of the crime has created a deep impression, and
I consider the whole peninsula is now, for foreign travellers,
as safe as, if not safer than, it was previously."

Much as been said as to the reasons of Palmer's murder.
Why were he and his companions murdered ? As we have
already indicated, our inquiry did not decide this ; but the
evidence of the Bedouin generally pointed to the disappoint-
ment of the Arabs at losing the money Palmer had brought
with him, and the murder of the captives followed in a
spirit of wanton vengeance, strengthened by the considera-
tion that dead men tell no tales.

Colonel Kitchener relates that the murder took place
owing to the order of Arabi to the Governor of Nackl ;
and he gives the following interesting Bedoui account of
the matter : — " The Arab sheiks who had come with the
party (Palmer's Expedition) ran away with the money.
The Arabs did not know Sheik Abdullah, and did not

CHAP, xiii.] Causes of ihe Murder. 273

believe his statement, and when he offered money his own
sheik would not give it ; so they believed that the party
were running away from Suez, and they finished them
there. Afterwards the great colonel came and caught
them, and they were finished off at Zag es Zig. May
their graves be defiled." And he also says : — " While on
this subject I may mention that I found Professor Palmer's
death everywhere regretted deeply by the people, and his
memory still warm in the hearts of his Arab friends in
this country. Many of them came unsolicited to ask me
if I had known him, and to express their sorrow at his
loss."

As the only evidence on the subject since the termina-
tion of our inquiry these statements are particularly
interesting, but they attribute the murder to the following
three distinct causes : —

(1) The Bedouin did not believe what Palmer said, but
thought that the party of Franks were escaping from Suez.

(2) When Palmer offered them money, Metter Sofia
would not give it up, although he had possession of it.

(3) The murder took place owing to the order of
Arabi to the Governor of Nackl.

The first cause I do not think possible, because amongst
the Bedouin were men who had spied upon Palmer's move-
ments from the start, and were perfectly well acquainted
with the position of affairs at Suez. The second cause is
entirely in accordance with the evidence we received. The
third cause opens up the question of the instigators of the
murder, a matter upon which our inquiry was unsatis-
factory, owing to causes easily determined.

The government of the Bedouin, as has been explained,
was vested solely in the sheiks ; and, as in the instances
quoted in Chapter IX., p. 197, the sheiks were held

T

274 Drift of Our Endeavours. [CHAP. xni.

personally responsible whenever a crime was committed of
sufficient importance to warrant the interference of the
Government. Thus, if in ordinary times Palmer had been
murdered and the public money stolen, the sheik of the
country, and perhaps Shedid, would have been thrown into
prison and kept there until the crime had been expiated by
the surrender of the culprits and the restoration of the
money. Such methods of government are, however,
entirely opposed to Western ideals, and could not for one
moment have been permitted after England's assumption
of control in Egypt ; and rightly so, for the system is
demoralising in the extreme, tending to the destruction of
any sense of individuality amongst the Bedouin by the
concentration of all authority and responsibility in the
hands of the head-men. We had therefore to proceed on
a different system : we had to hold the individual by whom
the crime had been committed responsible for his misdeeds,
and the law of blood for blood had to be rigorously
enforced, and penalties exacted, not from the tribes in the
way of a blood-tax, but from the actual murderers. In
this way, our efforts being mainly directed to the punishing
of the murderers, the Bedouin, true to their sheiks,
studiously withheld from us all information concerning the
attitude of their leaders during the war, and only told us
those incidents that tended to their credit. Thus we
were constantly informed that Shedid had sent word to the
desert that any Christians captured were to be sent to
Cairo unhurt. This feature of the evidence was perhaps
consequent on our employment of the sheiks in the search
for, and arrest of, the guilty parties ; but it is probable
that if we had proceeded further in our inquiry, and had
succeeded in arresting the Terebin culprits, we should then
have obtained the evidence of men removed from the

CHAP, xiii.] Explanation of tie Crime, .^/o

influence of the Shedids, and doubtless mutual recrimina-
tions would have followed and have led to important
results.

Looking back, after the interval of time that has
elapsed, at the facts of Palmer's murder, the explanation
of the crime that we offered ten years ago does not now
seem to me complete. The following are important facts
connected with this question :-—

(1) When Palmer tried to return to the desert he
experienced opposition from the Towara, who said that the
desert was not safe.

(2) On being captured he and his companions were
stripped and treated in a manner that would only have
been meted out to them if death was to follow.

(3) There appears to have been but little disposition to
ransom the captives.

These facts appear to me to point to the conclusion
that the murder was but little due to the circumstances
of the capture, the escape of the guide with the
money, &c., but must be attributed to weightier and more
deep-seated reasons.

Palmer, as doubtless was well-known in the desert, had
been endeavouring with some success to secure the attach-
ment of the Bedouin to the Khedive. During his first
journey through the desert the true issues at stake were
not apparent to the Bedouin, for it was not until July '27
that Arabi Pasha issued proclamations denouncing the
Khedive, after which for the Arabs to side with the
Khedive was to range them with unbelievers against
the newly-found prophet of Islam. Covetftous as the
Bedouin are, no amount of gold could neutralise their
inborn fanaticism once it were aroused from its normal,
•dormant condition, and when the bombardment of Alex-

T 2

276 Fanaticism the Main Factor. [CHAP. xm.

andria and the burning and pillaging of the city which
ensued were followed by the preaching of the Jihdd and
the denunciation of the Khedive as the traitor of his
country, the flame of fanaticism burst out and swept over
Egypt, reaching far and wide over the East, and converted
the customary covetjlousness of the Bedouin into a quantite
negligeable by comparison.

Thus Palmer's death was, in the main, merely one of
those dastardly outrages upon Christians which followed
upon Arabi's revolt, and were due to his efforts to stir
up the religious fanaticism of the Arabs. Doubtless the
disappointment at the loss of the gold helped to bring
matters to their rapid conclusion, but the chief responsibility
r for the murder must lie upon Arabi Pasha and those
educated men around him who deliberately chose to sound
the war-note of the Jilidd, well knowing the horrors that
were bound to ensue.

In their evidence the Bedouin, as might be expected,
never referred to the effect of their fanatical frenzy, and
never took up the line of the religious martyr to openly
glory in the destruction of the unbelievers ; and as they
constantly referred to their disappointment at losing the
money taken by Metter Sofia, in assigning reasons for the
murder we dwelt chiefly upon the cause concerning which
we had direct evidence.

The circumstances which surrounded Palmer's untimely
death seem to suggest some error of judgment in his
selection for the work to be done in the desert. It is
useless now to seek to apportion any blame in this matter,
and Captain Gill, who was mainly instrumental in bringing
Palmer upon the platform in connection with the war, paid
the penalty for error of judgment, if error of judgment
there were, with his life. Mr. Walter Besant refers

CHAP, xiii.] Waste of a Valuable Life. 277

to this matter in his Memoir on Palmer. He says :—
" Yet Palmer ought not to have been allowed to go.
On this point there seems no doubt or dispute whatever.
So long as there was a single soldier in Her Majesty's
dominion who could be entrusted with the work this
scholar should have been spared." The loss to Oriental
scholarship in his death was incalculable, and it is
doubtful whether, even with his personal knowledge
of the country, he was quite fitted for the mission he
undertook, and did not to a great extent compass his own
death. His very trustfulness in human nature, and in his
own personal ascendancy over the Arabs, seem to have
warped his judgment for times like these, when the bitterest
and most deep-seated animosities were rife ; and his excep-
tional intellectual activity and sanguine nature seem to
have carried him further, in judging of the instructions of
his superiors and the intentions of the Bedouin, than their
respective words and actions implied.

We have Lord Northbrook's absolutely definite state-
ment that he sent Palmer out to obtain information about
the Bedouin ; and Palmer knew this was so at first, for
we find in a letter of his, written at Jaffa, between the 5th
and llth July, "There is going to be an English occupa-
tion of Egypt. That seems pretty clear, and this journey
I make to see liow the Arabs are, but afterwards I shall have
all the troops and war-ships at hand to back me up, and
be in constant communication with head-quarters. . . ."
What was in his mind when he penned the latter part of
this sentence has not been made clear ; but in his diary of
the 19th he says : " I. have got hold of some of the very
men whom Arabi Pasha has been trying to get over to his
side, and when they are wanted I can have every Bedoui
at my call from Suez to Gaza." And again on the 20th

278 Palmer s View of tie Mission. [CHAP.XIII.

he says : "In fact, I have already done the most difficult
part of my task, and as soon as I get precise instructions
the thing is done, and a thing which Arabi Pasha failed to
do, and on which the safety of the road to India depends."
And again on the 21st: "I am anxious to get to Suez,
because I have done all I wanted by way of preliminaries,
and as soon as I get precise instructions I can settle with
the Arabs in a fortnight or three weeks, and get the whole
thing over. As it is, the Bedouin keep quite quiet, and
will not join Arabi, but will wait for me to give them the
word what to do." And on the 22nd he says : " I am
very glad that the war has actually come to a crisis,
because now I shall really have to do my big task, and I
am certain of success."

The conflict between Lord Northbrook's instructions
and the view Professor Palmer took of his duty is clearly
defined, and has led to the impression that the Government
withheld some important information from the public when
it was given out that Palmer had been sent into the desert
to obtain information. There appears, however, little
ground for this reproach against the Government. When
Palmer left England for the desert, a fortnight before the
bombardment of Alexandria, it is difficult to imagine how
he could be instructed to do anything else except ascertain
whether or not the Bedouin were loyal to the Khedive. If
he found them loyal, and civil-war broke out, of course the
next step would have been to use the Bedouin against the
rebels. This was apparently his view of matters when
at Jaffa he penned the letter, of which an extract is given
above. During his visit to the Mediterranean Meet we
may well imagine that Palmer imbibed to some extent
the war-fever that is always more or less dominant
amongst sailors and soldiers when there is a chance of war ;

CHAP. XQI.] Courageous Assumption of Responsibility. 279

and after the bombardment of Alexandria occurred we find
him definitely striving to secure the one end which was
the natural sequel to his mission, viz., the raising of the
Bedouin against the rebels. In so doing it is impossible
to blame Professor Palmer. He did what any Englishman
worth his salt would have done under the circumstances ;
recognising his unique position for striking a blow for Old
England, he struck with might and main, and with
remarkable effect.

One cannot but admire the calm, trusting intrepidity of
the scholar who, to serve his country, placed himself in
situations of the greatest peril. Who, seeing an oppor-
tunity of helping England's fighting-men, did not scruple
to abandon the role of simple traveller, and take up that
of an accredited agent of the anti-popular party, well
knowing that by so doing he increased ten-fold the risk
he was running by being in the desert at all at such a
time. And finally, when he re-entered the desert with
only a limited sum for buying camels, without any imme-
diate prospect of employment for the Bedouin whom he
had urged to remain on the side of the Khedive, he went
as unprotected as before, when he was uncompromised,
and could make use of the inherent cupidity of the Arabs
in order to attain his ends.

On March 1 6th we transferred the remains of Professor
Palmer and his companions to one of H.M. ships at
Alexandria to be conveyed to England ; and on April 6th
they were carried to their last resting-place beneath the
dome of England's great cathedral. There, hard by the
remains of our national heroes, Nelson, Wellington, and
the rest, may be seen the memorial to our gallant country-
men, Palmer, Gill, and Charrington, who died in the service
of their country eight months previous to interment. The

280 Funeral in St. Paul's Cathedral. [CHAP. XIIL

funeral was an impressive spectacle, and, taking part in the
ceremony with the numerous assembly of England's living,
who had come to honour England's dead, one's thoughts
went back to that other memorial, that cairn of stones
holding aloft the cross in the " Desert of the Wanderings,"
and the terrible scene that had been enacted there ; and as
the choir chanted the pilgrims' hymn, " My Grod, my
Father, while I stray," one could not but ponder over the
oft-recurring words " Thy will be done."

IN MEMORY OF THREE BRAVE MEK
PROFESSOR EDWARD HENRY PALMER,
FELLOW OF S.JOHNS COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE,
LORD ALMONER'S READER IN ARABIC AND
A SCHOLAR AND LINGUIST OF RARE GENIUS:

CAPTAIN WILLIAM JOHN GILL, R.E.
AN ARDENT AND ACCOMPLISHED SOLDIER
AND A DISTINGUISHED EXPLORER;

LIEUTENANT HAROLD CHARRINGTON.
R.N. OF H.M.S. EURYALUS, A YOUNG
OFFICER OF HIGH PROMISE;

WHO WHEN TRAVELLING ON PUBLIC DUTY
INTO THE SlNAI ])ESERT WERE TREACHEROUSLY
AND CRUELLY SLAIN IN THE WADY SADR
AUGUST ivf MDCCCLXXXll

THEIR REMAINS AFTER THE LAPSE OF
MANY WEEKS, HAVING BEEN PART1ALIY
RECOVERED AND BROUGHT TO ENGLAND,
WERE DEPOSITED HERE WITH CHRISTIAN
RlTEa APRIL em MDCCCLXXX111.

THIS TABLET HAS BEEN ERECTED BY
THE COUNTRY IN WHOSE SERVICE THEY
PERISHED, TO COMMEMORATE THEIR NAMES.
THEIR WORTH AND THEIR FATE.

THAT TRAGIC FATE WAS SHARED BY TWO
FAITHFUL, ATTENDANTS, THE SYRIAN KHAIJL
ATIK AND THE HEBREW BAKHOR HASSAN,
WHOSE REMAINS LIE WITH THEIRS.

"Our Bones lie scattered before the Pit.
as u>hen one breaketh and cleaoeth
Wood upon the Earth, but our eyes
look unto Thee O Lord God!" Pa cxu.

MEMORIAL IN ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL.

APPENDIX A.

NOTES BY SIR CHARLES WARREN ON HIS CONNECTION
WITH THE PALMER SEARCH-EXPEDITION, &c.

ON July 24th, 1882, when employed at Chatham as Instructor
in Surveying, in consequence of a General Order on the subject
permitting it, I volunteered for active service in the approaching
Egyptian Campaign, and forwarded a memorandum relative to
arranging for large working- parties and establishing discipline
among Bedouin and Arabs, pointing out that I had passed ten
summers in the Mediterranean and had extensive experience in
such matters.

I was then directed to draw up a detailed report on the
subject, and accordingly considered the question of dealing with
the Bedouin for the safety of the Suez Canal, which at that time
was the absorbing centre of interest to all. At this time I was
not aware that Professor Palmer was actually in the desert
preparing to report on subjects akin to this. All that
transpired in the public journals about his journey at the time
was that he had started off to the western coast of the Ked
Sea; no reterence was made to his employment on the Suez
Canal, and the general impression was that he was out on the
staff of a newsp.aper.

I was engaged some days on my report, and by a somewhat
singular coincidence i completed and signed it at midnight on
August 10th, just about the time when the party was waylaid
and taken prisoners. I mention it as a coincidence because in
this report I entered into the question of a successful entry
among the tribes of the desert to the following effect : — " It will
be necessary to make a secure entry among them. It will be

28:2 Notes on f/te

[App. A.

seen that there are Turkish garrisons in Gaza and Kerak, and
it is known that at the present time these Turks are intensely
jealous of the movements of English persons in Syria ; it there-
fore would appear to be now too late to enter through Palestine
and pass down by Hebron into the desert with any chance of
success. Again, there is probably an Egyptian governor at El
Arish, and Egyptians are on the coast along the caravan- route;
it is, therefore, doubtful whether a successful entry could be
made between Gaza and Port Said. On the Suez Canal itself
foreign jealousy would probably retard a successful entry. The
best course, I think, would be to pass down the Suez Canal and
effect a landing about forty miles south of Suez, on the east
coast of the Red Sea. I would send a trusty messenger from
Suez to the Sheik of the Tiyahah Bedouin, requesting him to
meet me there and to bring other sheiks. Care would have to
be taken to avoid Nackl, where there is an Egyptian garrison."
I then, after describing the Egyptian and Turkish system of
government of the Bedouin, proceeded to point out the dangers
and difficulties to which the mission I proposed would be sub-
jected. " It would not, I think, be desirable to introduce British
troops among the Bedouin. I would propose trusting entirely to
the Bedouin, and forming my escort from them. The principal
risks to be run, otherwise than those incidental to engaging the
enemy, would be :

a. Murder while sleeping,

b. Poisoning,

by emissai-ies of Arabi or the Egyptians.

Poisoning may be guarded against in a variety of ways, but
murder during sleep can only effectually be guarded against by
having sufficient Europeans for one always to be awake on watch.
The person employed to murder in sleep would probably be some
camp-attendant, and I would avoid this difficulty by having no
camp-followers, and living among and eating among the
Bedouin ; but I would propose to have three assistants and a
clerk. In a mission of this nature it is essential that these
assistants should be men I should knoAv sufficiently to be able
to rely upon ."

API-. A.] 1'f/fincr Search" Expedition. 283

On August 12th I received an intimation that Professor
Palmer was engaged on government service, and had occupied
the ground I had reported on with his base at Gaza, and that
there was no present prospect of my services being required.
All prospects of proceeding on this service ceased until
August 24th, when I received a telegram from the Admiralty
indicating that I might be required immediately to proceed to
the seat of war, and stating that my services had been asked for
from the War Office, in order that I might join the Admiral in
the Canal. I waited on Lord Northbrook that afternoon, and
learnt from him the position of affairs regarding Professor
Palmer's party so far as was known — that they had entered
the desert again, and that there were rumours that they had
been robbed and were thus prevented carrying out their
instructions — and I was directed to proceed at once to the Suez
Canal to report myself for duty to the Admiral Commandiiig-in-
Chief.

My mission in general was to proceed among the Bedouin for
any duty that might be required. On account of the particular
nature of these services I was permitted to recommend the
names of two officers to accompany me, and I submitted those of
Lieutenant K. M. Burton, R.E., and Lieutenant A. E. Haynes, R.E.,
and also that of Quarter-Master-Sergeant E. Kennedy, H.E.,
as clerk and store-keeper, the latter having accompanied me to
South Africa in a former expedition. Owing to the active
measures taken by Sir Andrew Clarke, Commandant S.M.E., 1
was enabled to conclude all arrangements that night, and left
London on the following day at 7.30 p.m. for the Suez Canal,
with Lieutenant Haynes and Quarter-Master-Sergeant Kennedy;
Sir John Stokes, the Deputy- Adjutant-General, having arranged
that Lieutenant Burton, who was in Ireland, should follow by
the next overland mail.

Although no linguist, and having but a limited knowledge of
the Arabic language, I had an intimate acquaintance with Arabs,
and had lived a good deal among half -civilised tribes. Having
been quartered for seven years at Gibraltar I had had ample
opportunity of observing the Moors of North Africa ; and

284 Notes on the

[APP. A.

subsequently during three and a half years in Syria I became well
acquainted with the Arabs, and particularly the Bedouin ; at one
time I was travelling with the latter when they were fighting
with Turkish troops. Consequently, when making my report on
the desert, I was speaking on a subject completely familiar to me.

It will be observed that my views differed somewhat from
those of Professor Palmer on several points. First, as to the
desirability of entering the desert from Gaza. I represented
the undesirability of endeavouring to enter the desert from the
direction of Syria, owing to the ill-will that the Turkish officials
bore towards us at that time, and the jealousy with which they
watched all movements of Englishmen. The correctness of
this view, though a mere matter of opinion, was accentuated by
the fact that Professor Palmer afterwards stated that he made
his entry there only at the imminent risk of his life. Secondly, I
differed as to the number of Bedouin available in Arabia Petrasa.
Palmer and Gill estimated the number at fifty thousand, but I
can find no reason to alter my estimate made on August 10, 1882,
that there were but five thousand available, while five thousand
would be required among the tribes for local protection, making
in all but ten thousand. Thirdly, I differed as to the fort of
Nackl; the fort was made by Palmer the rendezvous of the
assembled sheiks, whereas I laid stress upon the point that this
fort should be particularly avoided, being the residence of an
Egyptian or Turkish governor devoted to Arabi Pasha.

With regard to the relative influence and importance of the
various desert tribes, the views of Palmer and Gill, as judged by
after events, required very great modification ; and I think it
probable that the fact of a war between Moslems and Christians
being at hand was not sufficiently taken into account. For
example, it was asserted that the Towara of the Sinaitic Peninsula
were a powerful tribe, but as a matter of fact this was only so in
peace time, as in war they count as nothing. It was supposed
that the Tiyahah and Towara were the most powerful tribes on
the Canal, whereas the Terebin and Haiwatat are the principal
tribes ; and moreover, owing to a similarity of names, the
Lehewat and Haiwatat were confused together.

AFP. A.] Palmer Search -Expedition. 285

It may truly be said that for war purposes scarcely anything1
was known of the Bedoui tribes about the Canal. Whether it
was practicable before the war to obtain this kn- wledge I cannot
say, because my more exact information was arrived at under
most peculiar circumstances — when travelling with a miscellaneous
number of men, out of every important tribe in the district, to whom
we could instantly refer, and pit one against the other as to the
truth of their statements. What I particularly wish to lay stress
upon is the fact that the relative importance of the tribes in the
desert was quite unknown when Palmer travelled through them,
and there was complete ignorance of the places they located.
It is to be recollected that tribes move on like the billows of
sand in the desert ; that it was twelve years since Palmer had
travelled through on a previous occasion, and consequently most
important changes had taken place. In fact, the first point that
struck me on arrival on the Canal was the reiterated caution
I received from old Syrian friends : " Everything has changed
in the desert since you were in Syria." A keen observer will
notice most marked changes in the sea-shore after every tide
has left the coast ; and so it is with the tribes of the desert,
every season leaves its distinct traces and brings about a change.
If Palmer had had sufficient time he could have made an
admirable report upon the desert tribes, but he had to plunge
into the desert at a time when everything was in process of
change from peace to war (for the bombardment of Alexandria
took place while he was in the desert), and the fact that there
were portions of the two tribes he most dreaded, the Terebin
and Haiwatat, in the very wadi he passed through to his death
was not only unknown to himself, but to the people who had
dwelt at Suez for years past.

I must make another observation. Many years ago, when
visiting Eastern magnates, I noticed that those Europeans wha
seemed to get on best with the Turks and Arabs always employed
interpreters, even when they knew the language intimately.
They had many reasons for this custom, some of etiquette, others
of expediency ; but the most cogent reason was, that however
well you may speak the language of another person, you are-

286 Notes on the Palmer Search- Expedition. [.\PP.A.

always at a disadvantage, being never quite perfect in it ; while
with an interpreter you have a distinct advantage, as you
hear the reply in two languages, and get your own idea of it
and that of the interpreter. Experience has taught me that
a man who knows a little of a language and employs an inter-
preter, is better placed than one who knows a language pretty
well and uses no interpreter. In fact, I put very little faith
in the results of interviews where a good interpreter is not
employed. In all my own dealings with Easterns I employed
an interpreter as a matter of course.

APPENDIX B.

ABBREVIATED ACCOUNT OF PROFESSOR PALMER'S
MISSION, BY SIR CHARLES WARREN.

PROPESSOE PALMER arrived at Jaffa on July 9th, proceeded along
the coast to Gaza, and left Gaza for Suez about July 14tli in
company with Hamdan and five other Tiyahah. Passing near
Minieh, he met Sheik Misleh of the Tiyahah and Metter Sofia at
Boweteh. Metter was introduced to him as the head-sheik of
the Lehewat, occupying all the country south-east of Suez. He
kept up this deception all through his journey with Professor
Palmer, and it was principally owing to the difficulties arising
from this mistake that Professor Palmer fell into the hands of
the Bedouin who subsequently murdered him and his party.
Metter Sofia was not a sheik of the Lehewat, and the Lehewat
as a tribe do not live to the south-east of Suez. The sheik of
the Lehewat is Aleyan, and the tribe live between the Azazimeh
and Tiyahah, to the south of Hebron. Metter Sofia was simply
the head of a family, who had left their tribe and gone to live
ne,ar Suez : he had collected there two or three families acting
as his partisans, and which he chose to call the Sofia tribe, but
he was without any power or influence whatever, and, in fact,
having broken with his tribe, was a most undesirable person
to act as escort to travellers.

Professor Palmer sent Metter Sofia with a letter to Suez, and
proceeded with Misleh to Jebel Magara, where he stayed until
the return of Metter on July 26th. He then took leave of
Misleh and proceeded to Suez with Metter Sofia and his cook
Bochor, arriving there on August 1st. Here he remained for

288 Professor Palmer's Mission. [APP. B.

some days. He was joined by Captain Gill from England on
August 6th. In the meantime, Metter Sofia had gone to his
tents at Tusset Sadr, and on August 6th he received a letter
from Professor Palmer telling him to bring down twenty armed
men to escort him to Nackl. He was unable to read this letter,
and came at once into Ayun Musa, where he arrived on the
evening of August 7th with his nephew, Salami Ibn Aid. He
came into Suez on the evening of August 7th and was presented
to the admiral, and received from him a naval officer's sword.
That night he stopped at M. Zahr's house, and left the sword
with him ; and it has been suggested by some that this act was
an indication of his subsequent conduct.

On August 8th, Professor Palmer, after all his expenses in
Suez had been defrayed by the Admiralty, received in a bag
£3000 to take into the desert, each thousand in a separate small
bag. In the afternoon, the party, consisting of Professor
Palmer, Captain Gill, the dragoman, Khalil Atek, Lieutenant
Charrington, and Bochor, the cook, proceeded to Ayun Musa by
sea. They slept at Ayun Musa, and started thence for Nackl,
via Wadi Sadr, on the morning of August 9th. Their party
consisted of Metter Sofia and his nephew, Salami Ibn Aid,
Sualem N'Mair, a Lehewat from Suez, seven Aligat, and one
M'Saineh, cameleers. The camels were : — two belonging to
Metter Sofia and his nephew, ten of Professor Palmer's, and
four hired from the Aligat.

The party lunched at Wadi Lahasa, and while they were
there two Haiwatat came up to them on camels, Ibn Subheh
and Muslem Abu Nar. These two had considerable conversation
with Metter Sofia, and Muslem received two pounds from
Metter and proceeded towards Marbook ; while Ibn Subheh
accompanied the party to Wadi Kahalin, where they encamped
for the night.

About sunset, arrived from Ayun Musa, Musleh Ooudah, a
Haiwatat, Salim Sulman, an Aligat, and Saad M'said, a Genouneh.
During the evening Ibn Subheh was seen to have frequent
private conversation with Salim Sulman, and it is surmised that
Ibn Subheh persuaded him to steal two of Professor Palmer's

A PP. B.; Professor Palmers Mission. ;2S!)

camels during the night, to delay the party several hoars, and
give the attacking party time to come down to attack them.
That same evening Ali Shwair, a Terebin, living at Ayun Musa,
arrived at Ain Abu Jerad, a spring at the mouth of Wadi Sadr,
an hour and a half's journey beyond Wadi Kahalin, having been
sent, according to his own statement, by Ibn Subheh for the
purpose of bringing down the Terebin and Dubur of Wadi
Sadr to attack Professor Palmer's party, and here, he and
Salem Sheyk, a Haiwatat, slept that night.

On the morning of August 10th, it was found that the three
Bedouin had left Professor Palmer's camp during the night,
and that two of his camels had also disappeared. It was at
once concluded that the men had stolen the camels, and Salami
Ibn Aid, M'dnckle, and two others, were at once sent in search.
They pursued them for about eighteen miles, crossing Wadi
Sadr to a water beyond Halifeh, and then rescued them from
Salim Salman, who was driving them off. They returned to
Wadi Kahalm with the stolen camels about 3 p.m., and reported
to Professor Palmer the facts of the case. Anxiety was at once
felt owing to this very unusual occurrence, and, on being
strongly urged by Metter Sofia to do so, it was determined to
allow the baggage to come on quietly with the tired animals,
while the party proceeded direct to Metter Sofia's camp at
Tusset Sadr, carrying the money with them. It is difficult to
understand Metter Sofia's precise object in this arrangement,
for had he really hurried the party on they might easily have
been out of Wadi Sadr before the attacking party came down;
as it was they seem to have proceeded at a very leisurely pace.
The baggage left about an hour after the party, and unloaded
near Ain Abu Jerad shortly after sunset.

Professor Palmer's party, consisting of himself, Captain Gill,
Lieutenant Charrington, Kalil Atek, Metter Sofia, and Salami
Ibn Aid, proceeded up the wadi, and, passing Ibn Subheh and
Salem Sheyk asleep on the road, arrived at a place called
Muhareb after midnight. Here they were met by a party of
Dubur and Terebin, who had come down a few minutes before
from their camp at the mazeira (corn ground) at Rahah. They

u

290 Professor Palmers Mission. [APP. B.

had been informed of the coming of the party in the evening
by Ali Shwair, who had started from Ain Abu Jerad after an
interview with Ibn Subheh, who joined him therefrom the camp
at Wadi Kahalin.

When an attack appeared imminent the camels of Professor
Palmer's party knelt down, and, apparently, at this time the
camel of Salami Ibn Aid, on which Captain Gill was riding, was
shot in the head and incapacitated. Professor Palmer was
riding the camel of Metter Sofia with Salami Ibn Aid, and in
its huradje was his despatch-box and the bag containing three
thousand pounds. There was a report that immediately on the
attack Salami Ibn Aid threw Professor Palmer off the camel and
decamped with the money. Salami himself stated that Professor
Palmer ordered him to ride off with it. He got safely down the
wadi, and in the early morning passed within a few feet of the
cameleers, who were sleeping with the baggage, but he did not
speak to them, though had he done so the life of Bochor, the
cook, might have been saved. He gave no warning at Ayun
Musa, but made a great circuit round by Wadi el Hadj, and
secreting the money in the ground came to his uncle's camp at
Tusset Sadr on the evening of the 12th.

To return to Professor Palmer's party. Metter Sofia was

riding a camel carrying some boxes and a tent, which Captain

Grill was going to take into the desert, and he managed to elude

the attacking party and rode up the wadi to his camp at Drieseh,

beyond Tusset Sadr. The party was thus reduced to three

Englishmen and one Syrian. Outnumbered and overpowered,

they were forced to submit ; their clothes were torn from them ;

they were stripped naked all but their underclothes, and were

put down for safe keeping in a sheltered nook in the rocks,

close to the place of attack. It does not appear, at this time,

that there was any idea of murdering them; on the contrary, it

seems that the Bedouin said they would send the party into

Suez as soon as they had got their money. After leaving the

four in safe-keeping, the Dubur and Terebin proceeded quickly

down the wadi in search of Salami Ibn Aid and the baggage.

Meeting the latter coming up the wadi they asked where the

APP. B.] Professor Palmer's Mission. 291

money was, and ransacked the baggage in search of it ; they
were greatly incensed at not finding it, and carried off all they
could find, but returned to the Aligat cameleers the camels that
belonged to them, and also four camels of Professor Palmer's,
which were sworn to as their own by three of the Aligat came-
leers. On account of this the three Aligat were subsequently
charged with the theft of them.

With two exceptions, the whole attacking party proceeded
back up the wadi, and arrived about eleven or twelve o'clock
at the place where they had left the captives; when they
arrived there they found Metter Sofia, with about ten men,
engaged in conversation with the captives. It appears that
Metter Sofia, after reaching his camp, had collected all the
men he could find to come down with him to assist the captives ;
and from the evidence of Metter Sofia it would appear that
though some of them were willing to protect the party to their
utmost, he preferred to negotiate, and offered to give thirty
camels as ransom, but no money. It would appear that
Professor Palmer offered all the money he had brought with
him that their lives should be spared. The Bedouin looked
upon this offering of thirty camels by Metter Sofia as merely a
farce, because he might get them back again in accordance
with tribal law ; and the murderers asserted that had he offered
them money they would have spared the lives of the prisoners.
However this may be, it appears that Metter Sofia did not offer
to produce the money brought into the desert by Professor
Palmer, and the Bedouin, in a spirit of retaliation, determined
to kill all the prisoners, even the cook, who, though a Jew, was
supposed by the Bedouin to be a real Moslem. When -the
negotiations failed Metter Sofia and his party turned towards
Tusset Sadr.

Professor Palmer, Captain Gill, Lieutenant Charrington,
Khalil Atek, and Bochor were driven by the Dubur and Terebin
by a rough path down to Wadi Sadr. The chief men of the
attacking party who decided on the murder were Salim Ibn
Subheh and Salem Sheyk, of the Haiwatat; Salami Abu
Telhaideh, of the Dubur; Hassan Ibn Mershed and Zaid el

u 2

292 Professor Palmers Mission. [APP. B.

Ourdi, of the Terebin. It was arranged on the way down that
two should be killed by the Dubur, and three by tbe Terebin,
because the latter were more numerous. On arrival at the
wadi, Professor Palmer and his companions were driven to the
edge of a steep ravine overhanging the water, and the men told
off to murder them were placed behind them. They appear to
have been : — for the Dubur, Salami Abu Telhaideh and Salim Abu
M'Haisin, but the latter paid Merceh el Rashdeh, a lad, to do
the work for him ; for the Terebin, Zaid el Ourdy, Harash, and
Ali Shwair. In driving the party towards the cliff for execu-
tion, it appears that the gnn of one of the men was fired
prematurely, and Professor Palmer was killed. It was said by
the Bedouin that it was the gun of Salem Abu Telhaideh, but
he denied it, and said it was that of Merceh el Rashdeh, who,
on the other hand, said it was the gun of Salem Abu Telhaideh.
On Professor Palmer being shot it appears there was a general
rush, the captives either threw themselves or were pushed over
the cliffs, and were shot at and killed not only by those who
were told off to do the work, but also by others. Khalil Atek
ran for some distance, and was pursued and slain by Salami
Abu Telhaideh and Salem Sheyk. Among others who went
down to despatch the party at the bottom of the cliff were Ali
Shwair, Zaid el Ourdy, Ahzam, Salami Abu Telhaideh, and
Salem Sheyk.

APPENDIX C.

EXTRACTS FROM SOME NOTES* ON ARABIA PETR^EA
AND THE COUNTRY LYING BETWEEN EGYPT AND
PALESTINE, BY SIR CHARLES WARREN.

1 . Between the cultivated lands of the Egyptian delta and
the hill country of Palestine extends an arid wilderness, part of
which is known as Arabia Petrsea ; it is also known under the
name of the Desert of the Exodus.

2. It is bounded on the north by the Mediteranean Sea, on
the south-west by the Gulf of Suez, and on the south-east by
the Gulf of Akabah and Wadi Arabah. It is thinly inhabited
by nomadic tribes of Arabs, who, according to their traditions,
have come from the south, from Mecca, and who are slowly
migrating onward into Africa.

3. The country may roughly be divided, for general descrip-
tions, into four portions :

a. The semi-fertile portions about the southern end of
Palestine, which have once been cultivated but
are now lying waste.

6. The arid table-lands of the Tih.

c. The sandy dunes about the coast of the Mediter-

ranean and Suez Canal.

d. The mountainous district of the Peninsula of Sinai.

a. This is commonly called the South Country, and of it
Professor Palmer remarks (page 297, "The Desert of the
Exodus"): "Half the desert owes its existence to him (the

* These notes were originally printed in the Professional Papers of the
Royal Engineers.

294 Arabia Petrcea. LAPP. c.

Bedoui), and many a fertile plain, from which he has driven
its useful and industrious inhabitants, becomes, in his hands,
like the South Country, a parched and barren wilderness."
This South Country, or Negeb, is wholly in Turkish territory ;
it is the home of the Lehewat, the Amarin, the Azazimeh,
the Jehalin, and part of the Tiyahah. It was once a well-
cultivated land, and the ruins of the vineyards and terraces
on the slope of the hills are still visible. This country is an
artificial desert ; it was not visited, and will not be further
referred to.

6. The desert of the Tih is a limestone plateau, and is
described in general terms in the " Desert of the Exodus."

c. The sand district about the sea-coast and Suez does not
appear to be anywhere described in detail. It is for the most
part an undulating waste, covered with blown sand from the sea-
shore or from the disintegration of sandstone rocks. Its sands are
constantly, but slowly, in motion. In some portions the natural
features of the country are very thickly covered with these
sands, and only crop out at intervals.

d. The Peninsula of Sinai is described in a variety of works,
including " Ordnance Survey of Sinai " and Professor Palmer's
" Desert of the Exodus."

*****

5. The desert territorially may be divided into three
portions :

A. Turkish territory.

B. Egyptian territory east of the Suez Canal.

C. Egyptian territory west of the Suez Canal.

6. The portion visited lies almost wholly between the Suez
Canal and the eastern Egyptian boundary. This boundary does
not appear to have been clearly defined by treaty or otherwise.
Several charts show it as a straight line drawn from El Arish
(on the Mediterranean) to Akabah ; but, on the one hand, the
Porte appears to assume a nominal control over some tribes of
Bedouin to the west of this line (in Jebel Hilall, for example),
while, on the other hand, the Egyptian territory on the coast of

APP.C.] Arabia Petrcea. 295

the Mediterranean extends up to Rafia, midway between El
Arish and Gaza. It seems probable that the boundary inland
has never yet been demarked, and this uncertainty may at some
future period be a source of difficulty, leading to a conflict of
jurisdiction.

7. The tribes are located according to the lettering :

Terebin, A.B.C. Ayeideh, B.C.

Haiwatat, A.B.C. Towara, B.

Tiyahah, A.B. Sowarki, A.B.

Azazimeh, A. M'said, B.C.

Alawin, A. Tumeilat, C.

Lehewat, A.B. Maaseh, C.
Bili ben Ali, B.C.

8. The Terebin comprise a very powerful series of tribes
principally living about Gaza, where they are said to number
two thousand fighting-men.

Other detached minor tribes live near the Suez Canal, and a
powerful tribe lives in the Gizeh district, near Cairo ; these
tribes are closely connected, but the Egyptian Terebin have, in
many instances, almost become Fellahm. Those who live in
Syria are extremely turbulent and fanatical, and are always
hostile to Franks. They are said to be very untrustworthy and
deceitful. They have a large number of horses and camels, grow
corn, and are very wealthy. The Turkish troops quarter them-
selves among them during harvest-time for the purpose of
collecting taxes, but are frequently driven out. The Turks
generally keep some of their sheiks in prison as hostages.

The Haiwatdt comprise also a very powerful series of tribes.
Under the name of Alawin they inhabit a large tract of country,
east of the Gulf of Akabah and Wadi Arabah. They are
found in the country between Suez and Akabah, but only in
detachments. They occupy the country between Suez and Cairo
in great force, and also about Zagazig. During the late war
they were ordered to furnish a contingent of two thousand men
to save Cairo from an attack from the direction of Suez. Sheik
Ibn Shedid belongs to a Haiwatat family living close to Cairo,

290 Arabia Petrcea. [APP. c.

who, from their wealth and influence, having obtained the ear of
the Egyptian Government, assume a kind of control over all the
other Egyptian Bedouin. In the neighbourhood of Wadi Sadr
there is a minor division of the Haiwatat tribe called Dubur.

The Azdzimeh live wholly in Turkish territory, to the west of
Wadi Arabah. They are a turbulent tribe, constantly at war
with their neighbours. They have been seldom visited by
travellers.

The Alawin are a branch of the Haiwatat, and live in Wadi
Arabah.

The Lehewat live near the Azazimeh; they do not appear to
be a formidable tribe. Metter Sofia, the guide to Professor
Palmer's party, belonged to this tribe, but had ceased to live
among them.

The Bili ben AH live almost wholly west of the Suez Canal,
but there are a few families about El Arish.

The Ayeideh live almost wholly west of the Suez Canal,
where they have been driven during the last few years by the
Terebin, with whom they still have a blood-feud; their lands
formerly extended between Jebel Magara and Ismailia.

The Towdra inhabit the desert of Sinai, and keep themselves
aloof from other Bedouin ; they are very poor, owing to the
drying up of the peninsula in recent years, caused by cutting
down the timber ; they are divided into several minor tribes not
necessary to mention, as the whole of the fighting-men would
not number more than six hundred.

The Sowarki are said to be a powerful tribe ; they live about
El Arish, and have horses. To all appearances they are a poor
tribe. They carried on a successful war for many years with
the Terebin, with whom they have a blood-feud.

The M'said are a poor tribe inhabiting the Suez Canal on
both sides, near El Kantara ; they are a branch of the Lehewat.

The Tumeilat live on the west of the Canal, about the Wradi
Tumeilat.. Their sheik, Ibrahim, is a man of some weight
among the Bedouin, though his tribe is not of much account.

The Madsi live in the mountains west of Suez; they are
'well-known marauders, and often travel several hundred miles

APP. c.] Arabia Petrtea. 297

in their looting-expeditions. They are the finest of the Egyptian
Bedouin, and would make magnificent soldiers if brought into
tolerable discipline.

The T-iyahah are a powerful tribe inhabiting the Desert of
the Tih and South Country; they are a very warlike tribe,
and are, in many cases, well disposed towards Franks ; they
have been in the habit of conducting tourists through their
country from Nackl to Gaza.

THE PENINSULA OP SINAI.

14. The peninsula is principally inhabited by Towara, but
there are also a few families of Terebin, Haiwatat, Dubur, and
Genounheh. They are all very poor. The Towara are indus-
trious, and are so poor that they have to eke out their living by
driving camels for hire, and go into Egypt to act as servants in
gardens. They have much work in connection with the Convent
of Sinai, and see so much of tourists in the peninsula that they
have less active prejudices against Franks than other Bedouin,
and consequently are looked upon with doubt and suspicion by
their neighbours.

In time of war they are not in the least likely to side with
Christians, unless they are sure they are likely to be their future
masters. The remark of the Bedoui is a very natural one ; it
is, " If I do anything for you openly, what is to become of me
when I lose your protection ? " The Towara are not a warlike
race, but they would defeud their own mountain passes against
great odds, or they might fight in the open in a fit of enthusiasm.

^ jf. ^ *(C ?JC

15. Musa Nusier is the hereditary chief of a tribe, and
is also sheik of all the sheiks of the Towara, but he is not
the sheik of all the Towara. There is none ! He has
very little active power among the Bedouin, but he is a
singularly upright and honest man, and exercises a strong moral
influence upon the people by his good example and straight-
forwardness. It is often stated in books that Musa Nusier is

298 Arabia Petraea. [APP. c.

the chief sheik in the desert ; this is a very grave error. He
has no power whatever among the Terebin, Haiwatat, Tiyahah,
&c., though his opinion as a councillor in the assembly of sheiks
would be very highly esteemed. Personal influence goes a great
way among these people, but intrigue counteracts it. In such a
case as the recent war, when sentiment ruled the Bedouin, the
common-sense arguments of Musa Nusier would be voted as
ridiculous and out of place.

He is said during the war to have exercised some considerable
control over the Towara, and to have prevented their breaking
out and sacking Tor. It is probable that his arguments among
his own particular tribe may have acted as a wholesome check,
but there is little doubt that Tor would have been sacked by the
Towara had not preparations been made for the defence at the
proper time. Many of the Towara took more heed of the
messages of Arabi, sent through the Haiwatat, than of the
arguments of Musa Nusier.

THE Tin.

16. The plateau of the Tih, or Desert of the Wanderings,
rises to a height of four thousand feet above the sea at its
southern end, and slopes down gently towards the north until it
is lost in the sandy dunes fringing the Mediterranean coast.

The Tih consists of one vast plain, intersected towards the
south by deep fissures, and is broken in places with mountain
ranges, the principal of which are Jebels Rahah, Bodia, Magara,
Yeleg, and Hilall.

17. The soil and vegetation of the Tih is very variable.
There are many places where, for eight or ten miles at a stretch,
the ground is hard like rock, and covered with pieces of broken
flint, without a scrap of vegetation of any kind. In other places
the ground is for miles as smooth as a bowling-alley, with a
hard, compact, white surface, with no place for vegetation. In
other parts there are stretches of hard sand, with scanty shrubs
here and there.

But traversing all these there are to be found, at intervals,
broad, shallow water-courses called sells. These are, in many

APP. co Arabia Petraea. 299

cases, a hundred yards or more wide, and in them are to be
found shrubs all the year round, and after heavy rains the grass
springs up in them, and there is good pasture for several weeks
for camels, sheep, and goats. These sells are very slightly
depressed below the general surface of the ground, and when
the rain falls they present the appearance of broad rivers, a
hundred yards across, and from one to four feet deep. These
waters might be run into dams, as is done in South Africa, and
kept for summer use.

18. The so-called Brook of Egypt, or Wadi el Arish, is a large
seil commencing at the southern end of the Tih, and running
a course of about a hundred and fifty miles before it enters the
Mediterranean near El Arish. This river is, as a rule, a dry and
shallow water-course, but at times, for a few hours, it is quite full
of water to a depth of three to four feet. The beds of the large
seils are very uneven, and the water will lie in the pot-holes for
some weeks after heavy rains. Generally in January and
February there is plenty of rain over the Tih — so much so that
water for drinking, both for man and for herds, can be found
every few miles in the plain, and all over the hills. During
November, December, and March, there are often dense
mists, moist fogs, and heavy dews, which saturate the
shrubs with moisture, and even deposit moisture among the
rocks, so that flocks do not require to go to water. These
mists depend upon the wind, and often alternate with intense
droughts.

19. The rainfall may, perhaps, be roughly estimated at
twelve inches per annum, and appears to be considerably in
excess of many of the pasture-lands of South Africa. In fact,
a great portion even of the desert proper only differs in degree
from the sheep-farms of South Africa. It will always remain
more or less a desert at certain times of the year, but it is a
desert which might, with advantage, be inhabited by farmers
with settled homes.

20. There are very few springs in the Tih, and during the
summer the Bedouin are often in great straits for water. The
principal permanent springs may be enumerated : —

300 Arabia Petrtea.

Along the western edge of the Tih platform, Marbook, Ayun.
Musa, Wadi Sadr, Elifi, and Ghurundel.

In the Sinaitic Peninsula, the springs about Jebel Musa,
Wadi Feiran, Wadi Hebran, and Tor.

On the Tih, the springs in the Wadi el Arish, springs at
Magara, and in the sand-dunes about Mahada and Gratie where
there is fresh water near the surface over a stretch of several
square miles.

21. As it is known that there are not only goats, but also a
great number of sheep in the desert, it is obvious that thei-e
must be food for them. Sheep do not thrive during the hot
weather, and at that time are not found to be such good mutton
as goat. These sheep are of a very hardy nature, and ewes
great with young have been known to travel thirty miles a day
for four days without injury. When on the line of march they
generally first suffer from abrasion of their heavy tails.

The price asked for a sheep in the desert is four times that
asked in the Jordan Valley, and they often cannot be obtained
under twenty -five to thirty shillings. This excessive price
indicates that there is a difficulty in rearing them. During the
time we were in the desert, from September to March, we were
not able to obtain any milk from the goats or sheep, except
during the last mouth. In Palestine, the sheep give milk during
the winter.

There are no cattle of any kind in the desert. The only
domestic animals seeu were sheep, goats, dogs, donkeys, camels,
and horses. The latter are only found in the pasture-lands
between El Arish and Gaza, and towards the South Country.
Horses can be taken all over the desert, provided camels are
taken with them with a supply of water.

22. The Bedouin congregate together during the summer and
autumn near the springs of water and palm-groves. In the
spring, they have grass and water everywhere, and are free to go
where they like. In the winter, they are in great straits, for they
have to go where they can find herbage, and yet they have to
drive their flocks to water, sometimes a distance of twenty or
more miles. This they do about twice a week, sending the

AW. c.] Arabia Pctrcea. 301

camels for water for their camp when their supply has quite
run out.

When visiting camps it was not unusual for Bedouin to show
that they had not a drop of water, even for making coffee, until
the arrival of their camels; and I have sometimes found it
necessary to provide the water for making their coffee, which,
however, they have always scrupulously offered to return as soon
as they have been enabled to do so.

23. It is quite a mistake to suppose that the Bedouin of this
desert do not grow corn. Each tribe has its cultivated land (as
well as its palm-groves), and they grow as much corn as they
require for their sustenance. There are extensive mazeira in
Wadi er Raj, on the Tih itself, and in various out-of-the-way
places which travellers do not see. Near Wadi Sadr, on the
summit of Jebel Rahah, at a height of 2290 feet, is a large tract
of mazeira, on which the Dubur and Terebm grow their corn.
This spot is chosen both because the soil is fertile and because
the sea-breezes, charged with moisture, deposit water, in the
form of rain or mists, on the high grounds early in the morning.
In other cases, the Bedouin have joint lands with the Fellahin
living on the outskirts of the occupied lands of Egypt and
Palestine. A family or portion of a family of Bedouin will go a
hundred miles or more, quite beyond their tribe, to cultivate land
for corn.

The connection of the tribes one with another is difficult for
Europeans to comprehend ; it seems so contrary to the whole
rules of Bedoui life as usually laid dowc. All the desert tribes
have their allies or relations among the Bedouin or Fellahin in
the cultivated portions of Palestine and Egypt. For example,
the Aligat tribe of the Towara are allied by marriage with the
Nofiat of the Nile. No doubt this was at first dictated by policy
in order to secure themselves friends respectively in the desert
or cultivated country ; but it cuts both ways, and anybody who
takes the trouble to investigate and understand these relation-
ships will find it comparatively easy to make arrangements with
tribes in the desert, however far they may be. In fact, with a
reliable government in Egypt and Palestine, the desert ought to

30.2 Arabia Petraa.

[App. C.

be a safer place for life or property than any large European
town possibly can be.

THE SANDY DUNES ABOUT THE COAST or THE MEDITERRANEAN
AND SUEZ CANAL.

24. These dunes are gradually sweeping onwards, and have
already engulphed the old pasture-lands of Goshen. They are
caused, for the most part, by the blown sands of the sea-shore,
which are constantly moved inland by the prevailing wind.
The process is as follows : The sand, when blown inland from
the sea-shore, moves forward slowly in a succession of small waves,
about one-and-a-half inches from crest to crest. Each wave
has a gentle slop of about ten degrees towards the direction
of the wind, while on the lee side it has an abrupt slope
of about thirty degrees. Each grain of sand is blown up
the gentle slope, and falls by its own weight down the
steep slope; thus the waves themselves have a small pro-
gressive motion. These small waves, from one cause or another,
accumulate into large waves, which in some instances rise to
the height of three hundred to four hundred feet. These large
waves, like the small ones, have a gentle slope towards the
wind, and a steep slope away from the wind. The sand falling
down the steep slope at certain times makes a peculiar musical
note from the vibration of the particles. These large sand-
waves, or dunes, are continually in motion. The motion is
rendered very conspicuous, owing to the effect it has on the
telegraph-line between El Kantara and El Arish. Telegraph-
poles placed near or in the hollows soon get covered up if not
constantly moved, and those towards the crests of the dunes
are left suspended in the air. The palm-trees at Gratie, in the
same manner, are covered up for a while, and subsequently
exposed. The shifting dunes extend inland from the sea to a
distance of from fifty to eighty miles, as far as Jebel Yeleg and
Jebel Hilall. and are only arrested in their onward course by
the mountain ranges. In some cases the outlines of these
ranges, as in Jebel Eahah, are quite covered up. There cannot
be any extensive growth of shrubs on sand so continually

APP. c] Arabia Petraa. 303

shifting, and there can be no springs of water — with certain
exceptions which are mentioned below.

The district of these saiid-danes is looked upon with a certain
amount of awe by the Bedouin, who rarely traverse it during the
hot months, as water is so scarce, and there is danger if they
lose their way.

The exceptional springs are those such as at Mahada, about
thirty miles from Ismailia, which have been preserved in a
remarkable manner. They are the old springs which were in
use many hundreds, probably thousands, of years ago — possibly
the springs used by the children of Israel living in Goshen. As
the sands encroached, the shepherds using these springs have
carried the sand away from their immediate neighbourhood, and
this going on for hundreds of years has resulted in craters in the
sand three hundred to four hundred feet deep, at the bottom of
which the springs are found. The Land of Goshen is thus
engulfed by the sand-dunes, but it is there still underneath the
sand, and fertile as in days gone by.

About Gatie, between Ismailia and Lake Sirbonis, there is
fresh water underneath the soil in many places at a depth of a
few feet, and here there are forests of palms, said to number
seventy thousand These are the property of the various tribes
and families inhabiting the desert.

APPENDIX 1).

THE following is a glossary of the Arabic words used in the
foregoing pages : —

Abba A black, square-cut cloak, used by the Bedouin.

Ain A spring of water.

Araki A liqueur distilled from dates.

Bakshish A gift.

Bedan A mountain goat (ibex).

Biltong A Cape-Dutch word for meat which has been

cut into strips, salted, and dried in the sun.

Bosta A proclamation.

BoulaJc-bashi.. A sergeant-major.

Chowish A Sergeant.'

Dnkolia A province of Egypt, centred at Mansoorah.

Falakak A tourniquet — a staff with bight of rope

attached, in which the feet of the person

to be bastinadoed is held. The rope is

tightened by twisting the staff, which is

held by two men.

G-ieh Fat from the tail of a sheep.

Hurudge Saddle-bags, which form part of a camel's

saddle.
Jihad A holy war, which it is the duty of all Moslems

to engage in.

Kaaba Portion of the temple at Mecca.

Kadi A judge and authority in spiritual matters.

Kalyub A province of Egypt, centred at Benha.

Kefiyeh '. A silk scarf worn on the head, generally over

a white scull-cap or takiyeh.

APP. D.] Glossary. 305

Khamsin A hot wind, which blows only during a period

of fifty days in the year.

Kibleh The direction of Mecca.

Kourbash A thong of hippopotamus-hide for adminis-
tering the bastinado.

Mahafiz The government office in a small town.

Mazeira Corn-grounds.

Muderia The government house of a Mudtr.

Mudir Governor of a province.

Nazir A deputy governor.

Nimr A leopard.

Seil A flood. It is used also for a water-course

Shadoof. A rude appliance for lifting water.

Shurkia A province of Egypt centred at Zagazig.

Talaf A dish of rice mixed with gieh.

Wadi A water-course, generally dry but swept by

torrents.

WakU A vice-governor.

Zaptieh A policeman.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY

THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE
STAMPED BELOW

DEC 19 191A

30nt6,'14

Han-Hunting

in the desert. 5

„ I H3

)EC 19

- ,'